It was not pretty for most of the game, but the Boston Bruins managed to come away with a much-needed 3-1 win at the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
After a 3-2 shootout loss in Ottawa on Tuesday that saw Senators goaltender Cam Talbot frustrate the Bruins with 49 saves, Boston entered Newark, facing a rested Devils team in search of revenge from Friday’s 4-3 result to the B’s.
Quick starts haven’t exactly been Boston’s specialty in the month of December. Jim Montgomery’s group has created more work for itself, whether by way of giving up the first goal six times in its last 12 games or by going four-straight games without a goal in the first period.
Predictably, Boston was sluggish to start the second night of a back-to-back on the road coming out of the holiday break. But as the game progressed, Linus Ullmark became the one doing the frustrating, keeping the Devils at bay while the Bruins tried to find their legs.
Wednesday’s first period was not particularly kind to the Bruins, either, as New Jersey took a whopping 68.29 percent advantage in shot attempts through the first 20 minutes. As the Devils failed to capitalize on Boston’s mistakes and Ullmark continued to come up with saves on New Jersey’s high-danger chances, Trent Frederic capitalized in transition off a Devils turnover, ironically.
While the support around Ullmark improved, the Bruins still counted themselves lucky to have a 1-0 lead heading into the third period.
In the final period of regulation, Hampus Lindholm and Ullmark caught a tough break as both narrowly missed the puck on Nico Hischier’s equalizer. However from there, Boston did what it has done all season, find a way to win.
Montgomery said pregame that he was worried about the Bruins' energy level in the third period, let alone the first, but the usual suspects on the top line helped Boston gut out the victory.
The Black and Gold nearly took a late lead when Brad Marchand froze the defense and Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek before finding Jake DeBrusk for a backdoor tap-in, but Vanecek scrambled over to deny the speedy winger.
The first line continued to generate chances, though, and an astute drop-pass from Marchand to Lindholm just inside the blue line afforded the defenseman the chance to throw the puck toward goal. There stood Patrice Bergeron, screening Vanecek and managing to get his stick on Lindholm’s shot as it found a way through and in for the eventual game-deciding goal.
Patrice Bergeron gets a piece of Hampus Lindholm's shot and the Bruins take a late third period lead. Lindholm with primary assists on both goals #nhlbruins pic.twitter.com/Hvkqwx8pcd
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) December 29, 2022
Sure, it may not be surprising to see the captain coming through when the Bruins really need it, but it was especially important in a game like Wednesday, where Boston had to grind through early sloppiness.
"We showed a lot of character tonight,” Bergeron said. “We want to be better, but we stuck with it and found ways to stay in the game. We collapsed a lot, we blocked a lot of shots and we did things we had to do to get the results. I think that's what you're going to see moving forward"
Pavel Zacha added an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final against his former team as the Bruins closed out the road trip with a necessary rebound from the disappointment in Ottawa.
“[Ullmark] was spectacular. We weren’t,” Montgomery said. “To get three of four points on this trip right after Christmas, it speaks volumes about the character of the team. We weren’t at our best, but we found ways to win.”
The Devils may have had a 59.22 Corsi-for percentage for the game, but Boston's finish as a whole was another example of its strong third-period play and ability to close out games this season. With a plus-28 goal differential in third periods this year, the Bruins have been among the league’s best when it matters most.
On top of that, Boston is 19-0-1 when taking a lead into the third period. They are also 19-0-1 when scoring first.
“I think it’s finding ways to win hockey games,” Bergeron said on the TNT broadcast after the game. “You know you’re not gonna have your A-game all the time. Tonight was one of those nights. Sticking with it, playing for each other and finding ways to win games.
At 28-4-3, the Bruins still have plenty of hockey in the 2022-23 season left to figure out the recent trend of slow starts, but the ability to finish strong in the third period and pull away with wins is invaluable in a long regular season as well as the playoffs, in particular.
After Tuesday night’s frustrations and Wednesday’s dismal start, the way Boston closed out the third period against the Devils could serve as the perfect opportunity to build momentum going into the new year.