Market Research Biz News: Bruce bounces, Capitals bounces 5-1

Jim Thomas St. Louis Post Dispatch

Among all the great beachwear looking for blues in Winter Classic, Bill Fusso could have been wearing the hat he wore while taking a walk on the team bus.

“Whatever the store, I think it was Tommy Bahama,” Fusso said. “It was a little different because everyone has Hawaiian shirts and so on. I had to have a little Spanish style. That was my recourse.”

moved. He looked like he had just walked the beaches of Havana and was trying to get Cuban freedom. And if he thought he looked cool in Minneapolis on New Year’s Day, he should have met him on Friday’s ice at the Enterprise Center.

Husso rejected almost everything Washington Capitals threw at him during the first period of enthusiasm, after which Bruce’s attack won 5-1 before another sold-out crowd of 18,096. rice field.

“He certainly helped us get there early,” said Craig Belbe. “They came to us right away. We had a little heel there for 10 minutes. That certainly gives the team a good boost.”

The start of the contest on Friday was very similar to the start of what was a 5-3 defeat in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Bruce (20-10-5) was running around for his own purposes, which took too much time and space for the fast, physical and skilled Washington team (20-7-8).

Only this time, Capitals got an even better chance — nothing better than Brett Lehson shooting into a net that was three-quarters wide from the crease. For some reason, Fusso flipped his left foot to kick the puck.

“After that one save, I felt like I was crazy about the game,” Husso said. “It can be difficult to get in if you’re a month away and don’t play for a month. Today I was lucky to be able to save them, and then everyone scored some goals. It was a good hockey game for us and a big win. “

When you are a backup goalkeeper, you often have to wait for a while during the start under normal circumstances. However, Husso had to deal with a longer layoff due to a stint on the COVID list and subsequent lower body injuries.

Needless to say, he deals with them well. Twenty-four days after the start after the COVID stint, Fusso defeated San Jose 4-1 on November 18 and stopped 26 out of 27 shots.

Part II: Thirty-one days after the start of the injury to Florida, Fluoro stopped — wait for it — 26 out of 27 to Washington on Friday.

“I was a little unlucky to get hurt at that point,” said Husso. “I’m here now and I’m trying to win some games. There’s a good goalkeeper duo here and Chucky. Every day it’s a good challenge.”

Charlie Lindgren has been doing herself for Springfield Thunderbirds since December to remember with Bruce.

As for Fluoro, this season it has an ERA of 2.28 and an ERA of .931 which is 4-2-1. With these numbers, Husso doesn’t have to wait a month from the start.

“He did a great job,” said Torey Krug, a blues defender. “He resumed from where he left off. He’s doing it for us all year long. So he comes in and saves those keys at key moments and makes us early. Keep it in the game … he was our best player tonight, and we needed it. “

Fusso may have been the best player, but Pavel Buchnevic and Ivan Barbashev weren’t too late.

Apparently, Vladimir Tarasenko can be kept away from the Russians, but Russians cannot be kept away from the scoresheet. Blues top scorer this season, Thalassenko, missed a showdown on Friday’s COVID list.

In his absence, Bruce scored two goals (12 and 13) and assists from Buchnevic and one goal (13) from Barbashev to defeat one of the beasts of the East.

In recent games, the bright red Thalassenko has been removed from the powerful Russian line and paired with Jordan Kirow and Robert Thomas. Without Tarsa Senko, Belbe opposed Braden Shen to the capital with Thomas and Kirou.

Ryan O’Reily centered around Barbashev and Buchnevic on Friday. Call them Orussians. O’Reilly chipped in with 2 assists and the trio combined 3 goals and 3 assists.

“I think together they have some really great chemistry,” Belbe said of Barbashev and Buchnevic. “They have been friends since I was a junior. I think they played together. They just eat each other pretty well. It doesn’t matter who is playing with them. They produce for us. It seems that this is important. “

After Krug scored an important first-term goal in a 1-1 draw, Buchnevic broke the draw in the middle of the second-term, winning what proved to be the winner of the match. rice field. While Bruce was in power play and had 3 minutes and 42 seconds left, he also won a short-handed empty netter.

Barbashev scored a breakthrough goal with only 7-10 seconds remaining in the second period, making it a 4-1 match. (Oskar Sundqvist scored 3-1 with a rebound goal two and a half minutes ago.)

“They are two important people,” Krug said. “When they’re at the top of the game, it doesn’t matter who they’re playing with. It doesn’t matter where they are in the lineup. They’re playing. And they’re working hard. About them. The best part of it is that when they make a mistake, they are the hardest to backcheck. It’s a good feature to have and everyone is eating it. “

Photo: Blues 5, Capitals 1

Bruce hosts the capital

Oscar Sandkovist of the Bruce Center from his teammates on Friday, January 7, 2022, lamenting that capital goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov allowed the second term goal in a match at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. I was blessed. Photo: Christian Gooden@post-dispatch.com

Christian Guden