Halak saves hurtin’ mates
Comes up big in B’s win
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Bruins played a hockey game without Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and five other defensemen who could help them right now. And, make no mistake, those absences are going to hurt them at some point. But on any given night n the NHL, there’s not much that a little bit of heart — and lot of stellar goaltending — can’t overcome. And last night at Gila River Arena, the B’s managed to overcome all that, thanks to a brilliant 30-save performance by Jaroslav Halak, who backstopped a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Halak did have some help, especially late. With Matt Grzelcyk in the penalty box and goalie Darcy Kuemper pulled for the extra skater, rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon punched a loose puck out of the crease with 14 seconds left and the B’s were able to hang on. The B’s burst out of the gates, well aware there could not be any passengers with the amount of high-caliber players out of the lineup. And immediately they finally got some production out of third line center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, who had not much of a presence in the two prior road games but scored his first NHL goal just 1:12 into the game. The play was created by a hustling Noel Acciari, who took the puck off the stick of Arizona defenseman Jordan Oesterle behind the net and tried to jam it in shortside. Kuemper made the save, but the fat rebound went right into the slot for JFK to pop home. The B’s, who played Friday night in Dallas, skated hard in the first period and doubled the lead at 2:45. Brad Marchand bull-rushed Niklas Hjalmarsson to get inside position to the goal and Kuemper was forced to make a good skate save but again the rebound sat there for Jake DeBrusk to sweep into the net for his eighth goal of the season. Though outshot 10-7, thanks to an active Arizona power play, the B’s could have come away with more than the two first period goals. Grzelcyk appeared to give the B’s a 3-0 lead at 17:26 with a long range slapper, but after a video review challenge from Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, the goal was rightly taken off the board because of goalie interference on Anders Bjork. Then just minutes later, Grzelcyk hit the pipe on a great chance from the high slot. Halak had a couple of shaky moments handling the puck in the early going but made a few solid saves, especially on the Coyotes’ power play. He had to make more in the second. The B’s got an early power play when Oliver EkmanLarsson hit DeBrusk a second too late on the rush, but not only did they fail to get a shot on net, they gave the Coyotes, who have a leagueleading 10 shorthanded goals, a grand scoring opportunity. Derek Stepan broke out on a 2-on-0 with Michael Grabner but Halak made a terrific save on Grabner who took the feed from Stepan. Meanwhile, the B’s scoring opportunities were drying up and the Coyotes turned up the heat. And finally at 9:50, a youthful mistake on the back end cost the B’s. Connor Clifton, who’d been playing very well, may have been feeling a little too secure in his game when he tried to spin out of the left corner in the B’s end and head out on the rush. But Clifton lost the puck to Vinnie Hinistroza, who fed Brad Richardson for a goal on which Halak had no chance. The B’s did not get a shot on net n the period until there was 5:30 left, and it was a good Bjork bid in tight, but Kuemper shook off the cobwebs to make a nice stop. He had to make another one when Acciari was the beneficiary of a bad turnover, but Kuemper stopped his unmolested turnaround shot from the slot. At the other end, Halak had to survive a wild sequence in the final minute after Richardson took him out. He was scrambling to get up but not before Kevin Connaughton had a shot at the empty net and hit the post, allowing the B’s to take a slim 2-1 lead into the third.