The Boston Bruins continue to roll and on Friday, as they came through with a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers. Two-time William M. Jennings Trophy winner Jaroslav Halak of Bratislava, Slovakia recorded an impressive 21-save shutout.
This was the second straight evening where a National Hockey League goaltender made 21 saves for a shutout in a 1-0 victory. On Thursday, John Gibson of Pittsburgh, PA made 21 saves in a 1-0 Anaheim Ducks win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
In Halak’s shutout on Friday, Halak made 10 saves in the first period, six saves in the second period, and five saves in the third period. Defenseman Adam Fox of Jericho, NY, and Kaapo Kakko of Turko, Finland each led the Rangers with three shots on goal each.
Offensively, the Bruins got their lone goal of the game at 9:27 of the second period. Nick Ritchie of Orangeville, Ontario scored his fifth goal of the season from David Krejci of Sternberk, Czech Republic and Jeremy Lauzon of Val D’Or, Quebec.
On the season Halak has been extremely steady in the Bruins net when called upon to give starting goaltender Tuukka Rask of Savonlinna, Finland some rest. He has a record of four wins and one loss in extra time, with a spectacular goals against average of 1.38, and a save percentage of .938. Halak’s goals against average and save percentage lead the National Hockey League.
Of Halak’s 51 career shutouts, he has had 20 shutouts with the St. Louis Blues, 12 shutouts with the New York Islanders, nine shutouts each with the Montreal Canadiens and Bruins, and one shutout with the Washington Capitals. Halak first joined the Bruins in a backup capacity for the 2018-19 season.
The Bruins currently lead the East Division. With a record of 10 wins, one regulation loss and two losses in extra time, they have 22 points, and lead the second place Philadelphia Flyers by four points.
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