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John Tortorella may be coming back to Boston, but it will be to visit cousins or family he left here. It will not be for a seventh game, which he guaranteed on Saturday.
It became clear that the Bruins have discovered the Blue Jackets. Considering that the only reason that match 5 of the second round of the Eastern Conference has become as competitive as Saturday is the breakdowns that the Bruins had in neutral zone and defensive zone, it should be quite Simple for the Bruins to tighten things up and reduce the workload the keeper Tuukka Rask, who is perhaps sufficiently at the top of his game to finish this series alone if he has to make up for more mistakes at Boston.
Whatever the case may be, this series ends Monday in Columbus.
It took several games for the Bruins to regain their energy after their first-round win against Toronto. Boston had only one day off for the Blue Jackets, who had nine days off after their first round sweep of Tampa Bay.
The short delay also affected the execution of the Bruins. As they won the first game in overtime and lost the second game in double overtime, they never looked angry. All the preparations and preparations made by the coaching staff after the series in Toronto were slow to make themselves felt after the Bruins made their way to the distance with the fast and light Maple Leafs, who are not very numerous in punishment. . All of a sudden, Boston found itself in a real playoff series against a team with a real mix of talent and courage, and she had to rethink her approach and learn new strategies and new opposing tendencies.
Like all the NHL teams run by Tortorella before, the Blue Jackets like to block the shots. The Bruins were struggling to find the shooting lanes for a few games. Not anymore. Columbus blocked 15 shots in the fourth game and 18 in the fifth, having surpassed 19 shots in the first three games.
"Just good hockey sense. A lot of guys are falling, so it's a faux-shot that makes the puck advance quickly. I think when they come down, the seams open sometimes and they come out of the room, "Charlie Coyle, the Bruins' center, said Sunday before boarding the plane for Columbus.
Some wanted the Bruins to leave their goal to Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky after limiting him to six goals in the first three games and making 29 saves in a double overtime victory. in the second match. The Bruins refused to show him that kind of deference. and instead insisted that they discover it. Indeed, the Bruins have scored eight goals in the last two games, not only by increasing the traffic in front of him, but by shooting from different angles and accelerating the games in the depths of the offensive zone.
When David Pastrnak scored a goal at 3:33 in Game 4 on a shot from the left wall, it was a stroke of confidence for all training. Instead of thinking that they can solve Bobrovsky, the Bruins know that they can do it.
"I just think our state of mind has been a little better to get there," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. and a guy goes to the net? There are different tactics for this and I think in the last two games we have identified a few that have helped us. "
Fourth-row center Boone Jenner was the most effective forward of the Blue Jackets. Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin had their moments, but the Bruins have tightened their ties with this series. The Bruins did it without worrying about games. Of course, defender Brandon Carlo got 13 minutes and a 5-on-5 ice time switch against Panarin and limited the sniper to a shot at equal strength. But as for the lines ahead, Cassidy does not have to worry too much about the showdown, as the four Boston lines have been so effective. Sean Kuraly and Joakim Nordstrom led the fourth row several times victorious against more respected lines from Columbus. .
As explained by Cassidy, the Blue Jackets have changed their tactics by facing the defenders of Boston one-on-one rather than lagging behind. With the exception of the Blue Jackets' 10-minute offensive attack in the third period of Game 5 and some other cases where Rask had to cover himself with Zdeno Chara's blunders and other defenders, this plan was not working. By forcing their defenders to better position their sticks and putting more pressure on the backs of the attackers, the Bruins should be able to avoid a blip like the third period of the fifth day.
Tortorella tried to change training by trying to make up for the loss of injured striker Riley Nash thanks to an 11-man roster and seven defensemen that allowed him to overtake Panarin. It did not work.
The Bruins experience in the best-of-7 series helps them stay calm while controlling their opponents. And once they are aware, they are able to run as a team that finished second in the Eastern Conference, not like a team of wild-cards needing a wild trail to qualify for the series.
The Tortorella has nothing left in the magic box to get out and stop the Bruins. Boston will head to the Eastern Conference finals and will have enough rest and preparation time to avoid a slow start to the next round.
Tortorella guaranteed a match 7 with Washington in the last season after the Columbus 3-2 defeat in the first round. The Capitals not only won the series, they also won the Stanley Cup. Perhaps instead of helping his own team, Tortorella put the Bruins on the road to their ultimate goal and himself on the way to a vacation early in the summer.
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