@ Boston

Somehow the blue and white managed to leave Boston with a 4-2 win without completely falling apart. It started exactly how you would expect with Elias Lindholm scoring just five minutes in, but the team actually responded instead of folding like a cheap lawn chair. Matthew Knies tied it up with a short handed goal in the second period, which was a nice change of pace from our usual strategy of letting the other team score during our own power plays. We outshot them in every single period and finished with a 35 to 20 advantage, which almost makes it look like we knew what we were doing out there.

The game turned into a bit of a circus with 33 total penalty minutes handed out. Nikita Zadorov took a five minute major for boarding John Tavares, allowing Max Domi to give us the lead on the ensuing power play. Things stayed heated until Dakota Joshua and Zadorov finally dropped the gloves early in the third. William Nylander was buzzing all game and fired seven shots on net, eventually being rewarded with his twenty fifth goal of the season. John Tavares picked up two assists to help mask the fact that he was struggling in the faceoff circle, while Anthony Stolarz stood tall enough to stop 18 of the 20 pucks that actually made it through.

While beating the Bruins on the road is always a treat, let us all take a collective breath and remember who we are dealing with here. We gave up seven power plays and relied on a short handed goal to get the momentum back, which is a stressful way to live. It was a great performance from the young guys like Knies and Easton Cowan, but we have all seen this movie before. Enjoy the victory for what it is, but keep your expectations firmly in the basement where they belong. We are still the same team that makes a two goal lead feel like a death sentence.