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    Spooner, Rask power Bruins to big 3-1 win over Ottawa

    Spooner celebrating one of his two goals Tuesday night in Ottawa. (Via: NHL Bruins)

    Coming into tonight, Ottawa was one of the hottest teams in the NHL, having gone 8-0-1 in their last nine games. The Bruins knew they would have to match Ottawa's energy, as Ottawa desperately needed this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Bruins were able to match that energy, and then some.

    The first period opened up with a march to the penalty box by David Pastrnak.

    Pastrnak picked up a tripping and delay of game minor. On the second penalty kill, it was Brad Marchand who actually had the best chance for either side. Marchand found himself behind the defense on a breakaway, similar to the Detroit game on Sunday, however this time he wasn't able to finish. The Senators had a few decent chances as well, but birthday boy Tuukka Rask was up to the task. First period shots were even at eight a piece as both teams were still feeling each other out.

    Things got interesting right from the drop of the puck in the second period.

    Ottawa picked up a penalty in the first minute and Boston took full advantage on the powerplay. In his hometown debut, Ottawa's own Ryan Spooner scored the first goal of the game. The goal came off a great feed from Torey Krug and Spooner ripped one past Craig Anderson. The Sens really carried the play immediately after conceding the first goal and eventually drew a penalty on Adam McQuaid. Ottawa would hit the post on their powerplay but couldn't manage to tie it up.

    Gregory Campbell and Erik Karlsson both took matching minors, which set the stage for quite the goal from Louis Eriksson. Eriksson was able to make a self pass around Cody Ceci and walked right around Anderson for the highlight reel goal.
    Just 1:32 seconds later, Milan Lucic muscled his way down the wing and slid a pass over to Spooner, who was able to pot his second of the night. Spooner is now riding a strong six-game point streak, sporting three goals and four assists. Tuukka Rask also came up huge in the second, as Ottawa had some solid chances in tight on the Bruins net minder.

    However, Ottawa would not go quietly into the night. Matt Puempel would go on to score his first NHL goal, a rebound off a crazy bounce from behind the net. Ottawa kept the pressure on as they continued to storm the Boston end.

    With the goalie pulled, Ottawa threw everything they had at the Bruins. Ultimately, Rask stood tall and with 39 saves in total, he was able to seal the deal for the Bruins. The Bruins are now seven points up on Ottawa and six points ahead of Florida, for the final playoff spot.

    Boston has now gone 5-0-1 in their last six games and will be looking to keep things firing on all cylinders Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.


    Scoring Summary

    1st Period:
    None

    2nd Period:
    1:02 (BOS) - PPG: Ryan Spooner (2) ASST: Torey Krug (21), Dougie Hamilton (28)
    15:21 (BOS) - Loui Eriksson (17) ASST: Dougie Hamilton (29)
    16:53 (BOS) - Ryan Spooner (3) ASST: Milan Lucic (23), David Pastrnak (9)

    3rd Period:
    8:30 (OTT) - Matt Puempel (1) ASST: Patrick Wiercioch (7), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6)

    Full box score here.



    Follow Chris Kuzyk on Twitter @_KOOZ_ and follow @BruinsLife for the latest Bruins news and updates.