Kuraly right in middle of it all
Kid comes up big when team needs it
OTTAWA — Bruins fans had to wait nearly three years to see the return of playoff hockey. They’ve been reminded throughout the first-round series just how entertaining postseason play is, but last night was just plain ridiculous.
The Bruins rose to heroic levels in Game 5 against the Senators, overcoming a quick 2-0 deficit, the loss of key center David Krejci and a slew of disappointing officiating decisions.
All of those — not to mention a lineup with of a slew of players who spent much of the regular season at the AHL level with Providence, in college or in NHL press boxes as healthy scratches — could have and probably should have spelled doom for the Bruins.
But somehow the Bruins survived to fight another day, as they delivered a 3-2 double-overtime victory over the Ottawa Senators thanks to the second of two goals by rookie forward Sean Kuraly. Kuraly’s first two NHL goals allowed the Bruins to cut Ottawa’s series lead to 3-2 and force Game 6 tomorrow at the Garden.
It was the ultimate star-is-born night for the 24-year-old Kuraly, who had played only eight games at the NHL level during the regular season, recording one assist. He also appeared in Games 1 and 2 of this series, but was scratched for Games 3 and 4 at the Garden. He went back into the lineup last night to replace Ryan Spooner — and never was a wiser manpower move.
“Certainly (last night) was his night,” said Bruins veteran forward David Backes. “For a young kid, you can’t be happier. (He’s a) great kid who works his butt off. You love to see it. That last one, that’s as fun as it gets.”
Goalie Tuukka Rask saved the Bruins innumerable times in the 30-plus minutes of sudden death — stopping all 19 shots he faced, including a bundle of grade-A bids.
But when asked about Kuraly, Rask said: “He was buzzing all night. He’s a hard-working guy. He does the right things. He chips the puck in, goes in and bangs bodies and gets his nose dirty. It just goes to show you that when you do those things, you get rewarded.”
The payoff for Kuraly came with 10:19 of the second overtime, moments after Backes won a faceoff in the right-wing circle in Ottawa’s end. Backes drew the puck back to rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who sent a shot netward. Backes got a little tip on the puck, which bounced loose in front of the net and ended up on the stick of Kuraly. He had all 4-by-6 open in front of him and he didn’t miss.
“(There were) a lot of good plays leading up to it,” said Kuraly of his winning goal. “I was just at the tail end of it. The puck lands on my stick and I pass it into the back of the net. Those are the good ones. You don’t get many of those. But, hey, it bounced onto my stick. I just saw it on my tape and tried to put it toward the net.”
He was doing likewise when he netted his first goal at 17:05 of the second period. He was doing what he did all night — forechecking like crazy — and came out from behind the net by the left post. He banked the puck off Ottawa defenseman Chris Wideman and it dropped in behind goalie Craig Anderson, tying the match, 2-2, and eventually leading to the overtime.
Kuraly had a very emotional response, because he’d netted his first NHL goal — and it just happened to bring the B’s back from their two-goal deficit.
“I guess you don’t really know until you score your first one,” said Kuraly of his celebration. “It felt great. You work a long time to do that. For it to go in, it was good.”
Kuraly was also very much in the middle of two other B’s goals that did not count.
With 5:35 left in the first overtime, Kuraly broke in all alone on a clean breakaway. He had his shot stopped, but Noel Acciari rushed in to jam in the rebound. But Kuraly had tripped over the pads of goalie Anderson, and the referees immediately ruled it no goal, due to goalie interference. A video review confirmed it. Kuraly thought it was a good goal at first.
“But once I saw the replay I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I guess the next time I should just score on the first shot. I tried to get out of (Anderson’s) way. I think they made the right call but I didn’t know. I haven’t really seen it.”
He was in front with 4:39 left in the first overtime when Backes’ shot from in close was saved by center Jean-Gabriel Pageau on the goal line — with a closed hand on the puck, the B’s believed, which would have meant a penalty shot.
He was in the middle of everything on a night he’ll never forget.