BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Stars 1 - Marchand, DeBrusk lift B’s past Stars in season opener

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Stars, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

SHORT SHIFT

The Bruins opened their 2021-22 season on a good note, beating the Dallas Stars, 3-1, at TD Garden on Saturday night. Brad Marchand scored twice and Jake DeBrusk buried the eventual game-winner for the B’s, while Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 of the 27 shots that came his way in the win. 

Boston held pretty commanding leads in terms of puck possession and shot totals, but a lack of chances in Grade-A ice limited the B’s ability to build a sizable lead against Braden Holtby. 

Ultimately, the B’s broke a 1-1 stalemate in the third with DeBrusk’s tally at 4:43 in the frame, while Swayman and Boston's PK unit clamped down over the final minutes of action to prevent a Stars' rally. 

An empty-net tally for Marchand ended things for good at 18:23, securing two points in the standings for Boston. 

HEADLINES

Jake DeBrusk gets off to a quick start

The Bruins might have held a pretty convincing edge in shots on goal through the first two periods of play (28-14), but they didn’t have a whole lot to show for it on the actual scoresheet — due in large part to a dearth of quality chances generated down low against Holtby and the Stars.

In fact, the Bruins failed to generate a single high-danger chance against the Stars during that first 40-minute stretch. The Stars didn’t fare much better, but they did create one —with Luke Glendening rifling a puck past Swayman at 9:15 in the second. 

Boston simplified a bit more in the third and was promptly rewarded, with DeBrusk jamming in a puck down low to give the B’s the lead for good early in the third period. After a dreadful 2021 season in which just about everything didn’t go his way, DeBrusk has taken the proper mindset since camp opened — relishing the clean slate afforded with a new season and showing much more jump in his game.

Some of that might be a byproduct of playing with a pivot that operates with a similar pace in Erik Haula, but DeBrusk has also regularly buried chances this year (both in preseason and tonight) due to regularly driving toward the net and wreaking havoc. 

He keeps that type of mindset going, and the goals will come. 

A professional win, through and through 

It was far from a perfect outing for Boston, with Dallas’ stingy defensive structure and some solid stops from Holtby preventing this one from turning into a lopsided contest, but Bruce Cassidy and the B’s have to be encouraged with the performance put forward tonight.

Rolling out a roster with so many moving parts and new faces, the Bruins have positives to build off of in multiple areas of the roster — be it a solid showing in net from Swayman, multiple contributors on the PK and across the forward corps.

Even though that Hall-Coyle-Smith line was hemmed in their own zone and were out for Dallas’ lone goal, Boston also held a 14-3 edge in shots on goal during their 5v5 ice time together, while Tomas Nosek's line also generated some high-danger looks by hovering around Grade-A ice. 

No team is perfect coming out of preseason play — especially a club shaking off the rust following a 10-day break from game action — but plenty of players across this roster were all pulling their weight in a game like this, even if some of those contributions didn’t reflect on the score sheet.

THREE UP

Brad Marchand: Marchand opened his season in style — becoming the first B’s skater to score a penalty shot on Opening Night since Chris Kelly accomplished the feat back in 2013. Add in a couple of impressive PK shifts and his empty-net tally, and it was another trademark type of game for Boston’s top left winger.  

Jake DeBrusk: It was great to see DeBrusk rewarded with his third-period tally, but the winger regularly made things difficult for Holtby, including driving hard to the net in the second period in search of a quality chance. A lot of the hallmarks of a strong DeBrusk game (moving his feet, hanging around the goal line) were present on Saturday — a refreshing departure from last season.

Penalty kill: It was a busy night for a B’s PK unit that had plenty of new faces logging minutes like Derek Forbort (5:35), Tomas Nosek (3:49) and Erik Haula (2:06). Of course, some strong showings from the usual suspects like Patrice Bergeron and Marchand were the highlights, but the B’s PK crew went a perfect 5-for-5 on the night.

ONE DOWN

Power play: Boston could have given itself a bit more breathing room if it executed on the man advantage — with the B’s going 0-for-3 on the night. That PP1 grouping has arguably the most talent of any five-man unit in the league, but a couple of missed feeds prevented them from generating any real sustained chances. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Quite the way to open the scoring on the season:

PARTING THOUGHTS

Tis the season when playoff baseball is in the air. Nice stick tap to the folks at the Garden for blaring “Dancing On My Own” on the loudspeakers.

 QUOTE OF NOTE:

“I think it’s gonna be a really fun year.” - Jeremy Swayman

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will be off for a few more days — with their next contest set for Wednesday night in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Puck drop is set for 7:3 p.m.