The Boston Bruins have been knocked out of the playoffs after losing in six games to the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead in games after some heroics from the players. They were obviously still on a high after knocking out the #2 seed Florida Panthers. The Ottawa Senators never panicked though, kept their cool and continued to play the way they've played throughout the season and playoffs. It paid off as Antti Niemi carried his team after the Senators went down only giving up 6 goals in the four wins. Dwayne Roloson on the other hand wasn't able to follow up his play from the first round, something that proved to be the decisive factor.
Roloson, who had a solid .919 Sv% in the first round, only had a .901 Sv% in this second round loss to the Senators. Niemi meanwhile went from his mediocre .908 Sv% in the first round to an impressive and series deciding .942 Sv% vs. the Bruins. The Bruins put 225 shots on Niemi while Roloson only had to face 181, but it just wasn't enough.
G1 @ Ott: 1-0 Boston (28-28 shots)
G2 @ Ott: 6-5 Boston (52-23 shots Bos)
G3 @ Bos: 5-2 Ottawa (32-42 shots Bos)
G4 @ Bos: 4-2 Ottawa (38-33 shots Ott)
G5 @ Ott: 3-1 Ottawa (39-29 shots Ott)
G6 @ Bos: 3-1 Ottawa (23-40 shots Bos)
The Bruins weren't just able to win the goalie matchup, they also couldn't stop Patrick Sharp and Drew Stafford, Ottawa's two lethal weapons. Sharp put up an impressive 6+5=11 points, while Stafford had 5+5=10 points to lead the way for the Senators. Both clubs scored 3 PPG's each, with the Bruins also adding 2 SHG's. But in the end this never became a factor.
Rick Nash continued to put the puck in the net, adding 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points in the series vs. Ottawa. Unfortunately, he was the only one putting up solid numbers. Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Callahan both only had 3 points (2+1), as well as David Backes (3 goals) while Logan Couture had a solid 5 points, but no goals. There wasn't much offense from the back end either as Mark Fayne (4 assists) and Ryan Suter (3 assists) lead the way, but no d'man had a goal in this series (3 in the first round).
Boston Bruins 3 Stars in Round 2:
RICK NASH
4 goals + 2 assists = 6 points
21 shots
19 hits
+1
1 GWG, 1 PPG, 1 SHG
PATRICE BERGERON
2 goals + 1 assist = 3 points
20 shots
12 hits
+3
70% Faceoffs
1 GWG, 1 PPG, 1 SHG
DAVID BACKES
3 goals = 3 points
25 shots
17 hits
57% Faceoffs
Boston Bruins 3 Stars in Playoffs:
RICK NASH
12 goals
10 assists
22 points
+11
20.7 S%
3 GWG's, 1 PPG, 1 SHG
RYAN CALLAHAN
9 goals
8 assists
17 points
+4
17.3 S%
1 GWG, 1 PPG
PATRICE BERGERON
5 goals
8 assists
13 points
+12
68% Faceoffs (168/79)
1 GWG, 1 PPG, 1 SHG
