BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Lightning 3 - Bergeron reaches 1,000 points as B’s beat Bolts

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-3 win over the Lightning, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Patrice Bergeron hits millennium mark in scoring as B’s topple Bolts: On the same night that the Bruins put another emphatic stamp on their sterling season-opening start, Patrice Bergeron etched yet another milestone into his Hall-of-Fame resume on Monday.

With a secondary helper on a Brad Marchand tally, Patrice Bergeron recorded the 1,000th career point of his lauded career — serving as one of 12 different Bruins who recorded a point in what was an impressive 5-3 victory for the B’s against the Lightning. 

Bergeron’s milestone assist came in a second-period surge for Boston in which the B’s dominated the reigning three-time Eastern Conference champions — with the B’s outscoring the Bolts, 3-0, and holding a 14-7 edge in shots on goal in the middle frame.

It was a much-needed response for the B’s at Amalie Arena after Tampa outshot them, 14-7, in the first period — with a stout showing from Linus Ullmark keeping the visitors off the mat in the early going.

But once Boston began to find its footing, the Bruins’ balanced scoring finally began to land some punches against Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning — with David Krejci, Nick Foligno, Charlie Coyle, Marchand and David Pastrnak all lighting the lamp in Boston’s seventh straight win.

With the victory, the Bruins are now 17-2-0 on the season, with Monday standing as the latest in the long line of statement wins for this roster. 

B’s pass yet another test: Yes, we shouldn’t put a whole lot of stock into wins (and losses) that are doled out in late November, but Monday marked the start of a daunting gauntlet for this Bruins squad.

The Bruins have won games in just about every conceivable fashion so far in 2022-23 — be it scoring shootouts, multi-goal rallies and protecting one-goal leads. 

But if there’s one potential critique that you could make about Boston’s start, you could harp on the fact that the B’s have had some favorable matchups against some sub-.500 squads out of the gate. 

But no longer.

Here’s a quick look at what awaits Boston over the next few weeks:

11/21 - @ Tampa (W)
11/23 - @ Florida
11/25 - vs. Carolina
11/29 - vs. Tampa
12/3 - vs. Colorado
12/5 - vs. Vegas
12/7 - @ Colorado
12/9 - @ Arizona
12/11 - @ Vegas
12/13 - vs. Islanders

Sheesh. 

Of course, it’s not realistic to expect a very good B’s team to escape that stretch with, say, an 8-2 record. But Monday’s victory down in Tampa was another feather in the cap of a B’s team that absolutely belongs among the top tier of Cup contenders this season. 

"I think at this point in our schedule, we're starting to look at teams that are very good hockey teams,” Taylor Hall said Monday morning. “The next seven games are all teams that you could conceivably see winning the Cup this year and all teams that have had really good seasons prior to this.

"We're excited for that challenge. We're looking forward to that. It's great to win 6-1 and everything but we want to test our mettle and face some adversity, because we know that's coming, and see what we're made of in those situations."

Frederic exits with injury: If there was one unfortunate consequence of yet another statement win for Boston, it was the loss of Trent Frederic – who did not return for the start of the third period due to an upper-body injury.

Frederic, who slammed his arm awkwardly into the boards earlier in the game while attempting to beat Vasilevskiy to a loose puck, only briefly left the game in the second period before returning and finishing out the frame — but it was clear that something wasn’t quite right with him.

If Frederic does have to miss some time, the B’s at least have some reinforcements on the wing in the form of Craig Smith. Still, it’s an unfortunate result — considering that a Frederic-Coyle-Hall line teamed up for a tally earlier in the game.

FOUR UP

Patrice Bergeron: I mean, are you really surprised here? Bergeron becomes just the fourth B’s player to reach 1,000 points in their career — joining the likes of Ray Bourque (1,506), Johnny Bucyk (1,339) and Phil Esposito (1,012). Just the latest achievement in Bergeron’s Hall-of-Fame resume. 

Linus Ullmark: Boston’s offense eventually woke up as the game progressed, but this game could have gone sideways early on had Ullmark not stood tall against Tampa’s early surge in the opening period. Ullmark turned aside 13 of the 14 shots that came his way in that lopsided first frame before eventually finishing with 32 total saves. 

Nick Foligno: Despite taking a puck to the mouth during morning skate (and needing stitches), Foligno was no worse for wear once the puck dropped on Monday night — scoring a power-play goal at the netfront while landing a team-high five hits.

Jake DeBrusk: Granted, it was a rough start for DeBrusk after he trucked over Pastrnak on a power play in the final seconds of the first period. But it was all uphill from there for DeBrusk, who recorded a pair of crafty assists in the win while using his stick to break up passes and jumpstart a few counter-rushes for Boston.

ONE DOWN

Those first 12 minutes: The Bruins were likely going to be staring at a deficit against any team given how out of sync they were the early going of Monday’s game. But to sleepwalk out of the gate against a team like Tampa? The Bruins all owe Ullmark a beer for his fantastic showing during those first few minutes of action. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

LOOSE PUCKS

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now close out their two-game trek down to Florida with a matchup against the Panthers on Wednesday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.