BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Blues 0: Bjork, defense shine as B’s punch back against St. Louis

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-0 win over the Blues in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis…

Box Score

TOP TAKEAWAYS

Not “just another game”: For the last three days, the Bruins have downplayed what stood as their first meeting with the Blues since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night. We already heard all of the cliches — It was just another game. Another one of 82 on the schedule. Well, to the surprise of very, very few — the Bruins didn’t take such a lax approach once the puck dropped at TD Garden.

In the first minute of play alone, this contest resembled more of a playoff bout than a regular-season tilt in October — with Zdeno Chara drilling Oskar Sundqvist (the man responsible for concussing Matt Grzelcyk last spring) just 38 seconds into regulation. It didn’t ease up from there, with the Blues and Bruins trading shots throughout the night — racking up 14 penalty minutes in the first period, and 24 for the entire game.

But the Bruins did much more than land a few welts against the Blues. They dominated for most of the night — capitalizing off a David Pastrnak power-play strike in the opening 20 minutes before Anders Bjork added some insurance at 9:31 in the second period. Down the other end of the ice, Boston locked down the Grade-A areas of the ice, with the Blues failing to ATTEMPT a single shot within 25 feet of Tuukka Rask during 5v5 play in the first and second periods. 

It’d be going too far to call Saturday’s 3-0 win for the Bruins a statement game. After all, the Blues ultimately have the last laugh with a Stanley Cup championship. But it was encouraging to see a focused B’s club continue its strong start this fall with a convincing victory over a club that has given them so much grief over the past four months.

Anders Bjork breaks through: Time to play everyone’s favorite game — the “What-If” scenario. When it comes to looking back at Boston’s seven-game slugfest against St. Louis, most will wonder about what could have been had David Pastrnak been able to play with a functioning thumb in June. But imagine how much more dynamic this Bruins forward corps could have been had Bjork been healthy and likely much improved from what he showcased at the start off the 2018-19 season?

There wasn’t really that much in terms of expectations for a mismatched third line of Bjork, Par Lindholm and Danton Heinen on Saturday night, with Bruce Cassidy hoping that the trio would be able to leave their mark thanks to Bjork’s speed as the F1 on the forecheck. He certainly left his mark, and far beyond his goal in the second period. With the Notre Dame product using his wheels to evade forecheckers and recover pucks, that third line was a monster on Saturday — generating a pair of hi-danger scoring chances while the B's held an 8-5 edge in shot attempts during their 6:55 of ice time.

If Bjork can bring this level of production on a line with the likes of Heinen and Lindholm, just imagine what he could offer on a top-six unit alongside players like Marchand, Bergeron and more.

FOUR UP

David Pastrnak: We might have to remove No. 88 from this list following every game, because he’s been penciled in night in and night out. The 23-year-old winger was at it again on Saturday, lighting the lamp for the fifth straight game off of a power-play bomb at 14:59 in the opening stanza. 

Only three other players in Bruins franchise history have tallied at least 11 goals through the first 10 games of a season:

Dit Clapper in 1929-30 (12-1—13)
Phil Esposito in 1973-74 (14-10—24)
Phil Esposito in 1974-75 (12-5—17)
Charlie Simmer in 1985-86 (12-7—19)

Anders Bjork: Bjork’s first goal since Oct. 13, 2018, couldn't have come at a better time, but the winger did more than just get on the scoreboard. Even though that third line tailed off a bit in the third, Bjork was absolutely nails through the first 40 minutes of play: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1188258768129314817

Tuukka Rask: Even though the Bruins did a fantastic job of keeping the Blues outside of the danger areas of the ice during 5v5 play, Rask was still counted on to bail his club out during shorthanded play — turning aside five Blues shots on the man advantage and closing out the contest with a 26-save shutout. 

Zdeno Chara: Along with setting the tone with a crushing hit on Sundqvist in the first minute of regulation, Chara played a key role in shutting down the Blues in Boston's zone — logging 21:25 of ice time while recording three blocks.

ONE DOWN

Coyle Line: After generating five scoring chances and three hi-danger looks on Tuesday against the Maple Leafs, Boston’s makeshift second line struggled to get much going against the Blues on Saturday — with the B's failing to land a single shot on goal in 6:16 of 5v5 ice time when that trio was deployed. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Welcome back, Anders Bjork.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1188251589880045571

PARTING THOUGHT

Never change, St. Louis. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1188261460490756097

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will be right back at it on Sunday night, as the B’s will head down to the Big Apple to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Jaroslav Halak will get the call in net against the Blueshirts, who are just 3-4-1 on the season.