COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sergei Bobrovsky didn't have his stick, but he still had a glove. He did not need to see the puck to stop it.
The Blue Jackets goaltender blocked a wrist shot by Bruins center Brad Marchand, then rolled on his back, dropped his stick and flopped his glove out to knock the puck away just before Danton Heinen arrived.
That highlight-reel save at 16:06 in the second period defined a night in which the Bruins could not solve Bobrovsky or the Blue Jackets' defense. Columbus won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series 2-1 at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets lead the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Thursday.
MORE: Schedule, dates, times, TV channels for Round 2
“I did not think, I just fell,” Bobrovsky said. “I didn’t see the puck on my back, but I felt the puck might be there. It might not. I just felt to cover the ice.”
“It’s the instinct game, so you don’t think much,” he said. "You just follow the puck.”
And stop it. Bobrovsky made 36 saves and continued to heat up in a series that is tilting in the Blue Jackets’ favor because of their defense. Boone Jenner scored in the first period, and Matt Duchene’s power-play goal in the second period staked Columbus to a two-goal lead it would not give up.
The Blue Jackets outhit the Bruins 53-28 and were 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. The only goal Boston scored — by Jake DeBrusk at 19:20 of the second period — had to be reviewed. The Bruins had not scored since David Pastrnak's goal at 2:01 of the second period of Game 2 to that point. Seth Jones had five of Columbus' 22 shot blocks.
MORE: SN experts pick award winners
It was the type of collective team effort that has frustrated Boston to this point.
"We know that’s going to give us success," left winger Nick Foligno said. "We felt that in the Tampa series (the first-round sweep of the Lightning) with our defense, but it’s not just sitting back and blocking shots. It's continuing to go at them and putting pucks in areas where we can go get them. … It just makes us a difference four our group."
"They were great," Bobrovsky added. "They played tight. They didn’t give them much time in space and they made their timing with blocked shots."
That good timing continued with a clutch play in the third period. Columbus' David Savard was in the box for tripping, but Josh Anderson drew a tripping penalty on Boston’s Patrice Bergeron 17 seconds in when he tried to score on a short-handed breakaway. Bobrovsky stopped the last shot in the 4-on-4.
“I think it’s a really smart play,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “It’s crunch time. Bring it to the net and try to draw something. … It’s a one-point game and we don’t let them stay on the power play because of that play."
Tortorella, of course, also singled out Bobrovsky, who is warming up at the right time. The Blue Jackets are 3-0 at home in the playoffs and Bobrovsky has allowed just five goals in those games.
"If teams find a way of winning games like this, playoff games where the teams are so evenly matched and there are surges both ways, then the goaltender has to be the best player," Tortorella said. "He has been."
Bobrovsky is getting recognized for it, too. He heard the chants of "Bob! Bob! Bob!" that rang out at various points during the game, especially after the blind-faith acrobatics in the crease.
"That’s what he does," Foligno said. "Bob has this ability to make the hard saves easy, and with those ones — he's just never out of a puck.”
If that continues, then Columbus will be in good shape to continue a run that has not stopped since it knocked off No. 1 seed Tampa Bay in the first round. Right now, Bobrovsky is hot enough that he’s stopping the ones he can see.
And getting a few that he can't.
