BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Wild 3 (OT) - Hall wins it in OT as B’s continue strong start

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win over the Wild , with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s cap most-complete game of year with OT victory: Based on just optics, tabbing a game in which Boston needed overtime to secure two points as its “best game of the year” might seem a bit foolish.

But Jim Montgomery agreed with such a sentiment in the immediate aftermath of Boston’s 4-3 overtime win over the Wild on Saturday. 

"I thought that was our best game of the year — how we want to play with and without the puck,” Montgomery said. “Unfortunately, things don't always go your way. But I like the way we keep handling adversity and we just forge ahead. They got the power-play goal, it's a good play by them. That's a really good hockey team — a team that had almost I think 110 points last year. They'll get things in order, you can tell that it's starting to come. But for our group, I liked every facet of our game, except for the power play at 5-on-4."

While previous victories this season have seen the Bruins (5-1-0) commit repeated defensive lapses or fail to execute at 5v5 play for extended stretches, Boston was clean for most of the afternoon against a very good (albeit slumping) Wild team, with Boston holding a 26-10 edge in scoring chances during 5v5 play.

Whether it be a stout defensive showing from cogs like Hampus Lindholm and Connor Clifton, bottom-six regulars like Nick Foligno continuing to produce or Boston’s big guns flexing their muscles in crunch time — with David Pastrnak feeding Taylor Hall for the OT winner with 10 seconds left — there was a lot to like about the B’s execution in this one. 

Ullmark starts again

For all of the talk of Boston wanting to allocate even reps between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman between the pipes — Montgomery has always added in the qualifier that he will ride the hot hand when the opportunity presents itself.

As such, Montgomery opted to run with Ullmark for the second-straight start on Saturday, with Ullmark stopping 24 of 27 shots in the win. It wasn’t the cleanest performance for the veteran, but he also helped keep the team afloat with stops at critical moments of the contest, including a breakaway save on Joel Eriksson Ek in the third. 

“It's really important and that's why it's great to have good depth,” Montgomery said of Boston’s goalies. “And that's why it's good to have an elite goalie coach like Bob (Essensa), because he knows when guys are on their game and he knows who to play and I trust him wholeheartedly. But it's like if you're playing partner golf, and I shoot a seven, you get a birdie and the next hole — I par and you get a triple bogey. That's what you want, right? You don't want to be birdies on both holes at the same time.”

B’s honor Chara 

Even with a 1 p.m. start, the TD Garden seats were packed just ahead of puck drop on Saturday — with the Bruins honoring recently retired Zdeno Chara with a pregame ceremony.

Chara, who officially hung up his skates a month ago following a 25-season career, took to the TD Garden ice once again, with the future Hall of Famer and his twin sons, Ben and Zack, dropping the puck before Chara embraced Patrice Bergeron with a hug. 

"I had heard so much about the character of the man and the values, the integrity, I guess,” Montgomery said of his impressions of Chara. “And I was blown away at his retirement speech here at Legends when he talked about the importance — I remember someone asked them something about I forget how it really came out. And he just said, 'Don't challenge me.' He goes, 'I want to spend time with my family,' and it goes back to his values. But I'm very thankful to him because I know what the culture is like in that dressing room. And I think he's the one that changed it.”

FIVE UP 

Nick Foligno and checking line: Need to give credit where credit is due — Foligno is changing a lot of the narratives surrounding his game and whether or not he belongs in this Bruins' lineup. So far, the veteran has been money this season on the fourth line, scoring his third goal of the season in just his sixth game on Saturday afternoon while later drawing a penalty in the third period. And for those keeping track, Foligno scored just two goals in 64 games last season. 

Lindholm-Grzelcyk pairing: The Bruins might still be waiting for both Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo to get back in the lineup, but it sure seems like this Lindholm-Grzelcyk pairing is more than capable top pair for the time being.  Along with Lindholm’s snipe in the second period (a byproduct of stepping up off the blue line), the Bruins held a 12-4 edge in shots on goal during this duo’s 13:28 of 5v5 ice time together. Grzelcyk also recorded his 100th career point in the NHL with his primary helper on Lindholm’s goal.

Coyle Line: They might not have lit the lamp, but a reshuffled third line of Charlie Coyle, Craig Smith and Trent Frederic routinely put together extended O-zone shifts on Saturday by way of winning puck battles. Smith, who was scratched for the previous two games, had his legs moving a bit more in this one — eventually recording his 400th career point on that Lindholm goal. In total, the Bruins outshot the Wild, 6-0, in the 6:04 of 5v5 ice time that the Frederic-Coyle-Smith line logged on Saturday. 

Penalty kill: Minnesota might have converted one of its five power-play bids on Saturday, but the Bruins managed to energize the Garden crowd midway through the third period by shutting down an extended 5-on-3 opportunity for the Wild. So far this season, Boston is negating 90.9% of its opponents’ power plays.

Taylor Hall: After a slow start to the season, it’s good to see Hall starting to heat up, especially since getting pushed back onto a line next to David Krejci and Pastrnak. Along with his OT winner, Hall recorded a pair of helpers in the first period. 

TWO DOWN

Power play: Once again, the Bruins really could have given themselves a lot more breathing room had they managed to capitalize on their power-play opportunities, going 1-for-5 on the afternoon, and that lone tally was a 4v3 sequence in overtime. 

Discipline: Yes, Boston’s clutch 5-on-3 kill in the third period did swing momentum back in its favor, but Boston sure made things pretty hard on themselves in this one when it came to a lack of discipline, especially considering the fact that Minnesota wasn’t generating all that much at 5v5 play. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Just an absurd sequence all around — from Bergeron keeping this puck in, to Pastrnak’s slick set-up for Hall. 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue this homestand on Tuesday with a matchup against the Dallas Stars. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at TD Garden.