A few days after being picked up by the Boston Bruins for his 1,000th. Point honored at the Bettman Circuit, Patrice Bergeron proved he was still hungry by earning four points in a 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers at the TD Garden on Monday.
Bergeron threaded the needle twice in the third period to pin down the guests’ coffin. He first defeated Spencer Knight with a quick wrist shot, then jumped on a 3 minute 26 second throw return. later to complete his double.
The Florida team’s young goaltender played one of his worst games in the National Hockey League. Never knowing how to keep his teammates in the game, he allowed seven goals in just 26 shots.
Bergeron helped Brandon Carlo and David Pastrnak fool his vigilance. Connor Clifton, Charlie Coyle and David Krejci completed the goal for the Bruins.
The Panthers still scared their opponents by closing the gap to 4 to 3 in the second half. Sam Reinhart was the first to hit back, scoring for the fourth game in a row, then Eric Staal and Carter Verhaeghe capped an attacking drive that lasted just over five minutes.
With a record of 25-4-2, the Bruins lead the league overall. The Panthers (15-4-4), meanwhile, are still out of the playoff picture.
Ovechkin will have to wait
It was a great opportunity for Alexander Ovechkin, who matched Gordie Howe’s 801 goals against the Detroit Red Wings. He couldn’t find the back of the net, but his Capitals still won 4-3 in overtime in Washington.
“Ovi”, who scored his 800th career goal last Tuesday, has not scored in his last three games. Instead, he was involved in the first of two goals scored by Nic Dowd in the day’s clash.
Another Russian player, Dmitry Orlov, played heroes in overtime. He fired a powerful one-timer with 22 seconds left in overtime.
Erik Gustafsson also scored for the Caps. The former Montreal Canadiens defenseman has five goals and seven points in his last three games.
Quebec’s David Perron and Swedes Oskar Sundqvist and Lucas Raymond fought back for the Red Wings.
Alexandre Carrier delivers the “Preds”
Quebec’s Alexandre Carrier ended a six-game losing streak for the Predators by putting the needle into overtime as the Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime in Nashville.
The Old Capital defender received a long pass from Cody Glass in overtime. Carrier got it right by choosing to throw him in a two-for-one downhill demystifying Jack Campbell.
The Oilers never had the lead in the game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins brought the game back to first place twice, each time assisted by Connor McDavid.
Jesse Puljujarvi became the first to defeat Juuse Saros with just his second goal in 33 games.
Mattias Ekholm, Jordan Gross and Matt Duchene flashed the red light for the “Preds” in regulation time.