Bruins
After their October swoon, the Boston Bruins used the last two games to slowly construct their identity.
After twiddling with pace and emotion in Saturday's shock win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Jim Montgomery's club picked up where it left off in Sunday's 2-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken.
After one among their higher starts this young yr, the Bruins hit some lulls. Still, despite the fatigue, they persevered and earned their second shutout in a matter of days.
Here are a number of thoughts on an evening where the Bruins were honored the colourful Jack Edwards for his 19 years behind the NESN microphone.
Montgomery benches David Pastrnak for the ultimate 20
Even after their second shutout in as many days – a feat they last completed on October 27 and 28, 2008 – the Bruins experienced some turmoil that affected one among their leading scorers.
Montgomery shortened his bench after sitting David Pastrnak for the whole third period.
Pastrnak hit the online seven times in the primary two periods. Even without scoring some extent, Seattle's penalty kill in the primary frame drew attention and paved the best way for Charlie Coyle's highlight reel.
Still, Pastrnak generated his share of turnovers and struggled to handle the puck at times, particularly through the final 1:40 of the second, during Boston's fifth and final probability with the person advantage.
Montgomery didn’t elaborate on his reasons for benching one among his assistant captains during his postgame press conference.
“The coach’s decision,” Montgomery said. “That’s all I’m going to say about it.”
The only ice time Pastrnak saw within the third period got here when he took a whirl during a TV timeout. Despite the dearth of ice time in a closeout situation, Pastrnak remained energetic and optimistic on the bench, supporting his teammates as they capped the 2-0 win.
“He didn’t stay silent,” Coyle said of Pastrnak. “He brought energy. He was talking. He was thrilled. That's the sign of a good teammate. And that’s why he’s one of our captains and one of our leaders.”
Montgomery began messaging mode with one other of his leaders. But Boston's energy remained contagious from the primary puck drop.
Another determined start helps the Bruins overcome the last-40 slump
For the second game in a row, Boston looked determined from the beginning.
The Bruins looked like a brisker bunch even within the second half of back-to-back games. They might also have benefited from the undeniable fact that the Kraken arrived in Boston within the early hours of the morning after their 3-0 loss in Ottawa on Saturday night.
Through their relentless pursuit of the puck and a stingy checking presence, the Bruins gained an early advantage because of Justin Brazeau's tip and Coyle's power play marker.
The Bruins nearly prolonged their result in 3-0 late in the primary frame until an offside call from Pave negated Zacha's opponent. This, together with a somewhat sloppy power play attempt in the ultimate minutes, created a rare blemish in an otherwise dominant 20 minutes.
Montgomery's club beat Seattle 15-3 in the primary game. The Kraken didn't get its first shot on net until 17:01 of the primary frame.
But identical to Joonas Korpisalo's shot into the online in Saturday's win at Philadelphia, the Bruins had their justifiable share of problems over the following 40 minutes, starting from turnovers to poor possession of the puck. But as they faced heavier traffic as a consequence of Seattle's setback, the Bruins got one other round of timely stops from Jeremy Swayman, including 13 in the ultimate frame, to secure their sixth win of the yr.
“I liked our first period, didn't like the second, which was a lot like the Flyer game,” Montgomery said of Boston's bend-but-don't-break performance.
“Our implementation still needs to grow. Our level of maturity as a team when it comes to game management still needs to grow. We're winning games right now. You don't give up any goals and your goalkeepers play as well as they did. It's a good step. We are on the right track. November was much better than October.”
The Bruins proceed to come back together after their second straight shutout
For the primary time under Montgomery, the Bruins posted a losing record within the second month of the season. The slow start put them in uncharted territory, posting a combined October record of 16-1-1 in Montgomery's first two seasons.
After two straight postseason exits to the Florida Panthers, the Bruins are hoping to capitalize on this adversity early within the season.
Even after their two most up-to-date wins, Montgomery's club knows they will not be quite where they wish to be in terms of living as much as their identity. But within the last two games they’ve shown more resilience in several scenarios.
Against the Flyers, the Bruins held out in a shaky midfield and even prolonged their result in 2-0 after Korpisalo's timely stop. Despite Seattle's setback during the last 20 games, the Bruins remained stingy on defense, blocking several shots while Swayman was in a position to track pucks cleanly.
Be it defensive stinginess, timely goals or other supportive methods, much like how Trent Frederic was annoyed by Adam Larsson's goal within the third period, the Bruins got here together to stop the proverbial bleeding. With one other small step forward, the Bruins hope to take one other step Tuesday night in Toronto and extend their winning streak to 3 for the primary time this season.
“I think there's a lot to build on, and we know there's going to be outside noise whether we win or lose,” Swayman said after his 23-save effort. “So our job is to keep those doors closed and keep the momentum going in our room and make sure we show up on the ice every day. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing over the last few days and I think it’s a really great way to move forward.”
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