After a strange scheduling quirk that had the Boston Bruins not facing an Eastern Conference opponent or a divisional rival until almost Halloween, they were finally able to measure themselves against Eastern peers this weekend.
“I didn’t even realize that…probably just because I have my head down just working,” said Charlie McAvoy. “First game in the division and I know we have a few coming up, which is exciting. These divisional games are really important, every game is important, but these are the ones where you’re really able to create some separation.
“We’ll see these [Red Wings] guys a bunch of times and we’ll see them again shortly when we play them next weekend. Every day we’re just trying to get better.”
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It wasn’t this week’s Thursday night tilt against the Maple Leafs that should be a buzzy showdown and it’s not even Monday night’s revenge chance against a banged-up Florida Panthers bunch that eliminated them in the first-round last spring. Both of those are going to be high-energy, emotional Atlantic Division battles that will show us just how seriously the Black and Gold should be taken here in the early going.
But first things first, a 4-1 win over a Red Wings team off to a great start was a promising way to kick off this string of divisional games with Saturday night at TD Garden. It was only the second time this season the B’s have scored more than three goals in a game, and also just the second time all year they’ve won by a three-goal margin.
And it stands as a quality win over a Detroit hockey club that was 5-2-1 entering Saturday night’s game, probably their second most impressive ‘W’ of the season ranking behind last week’s road victory over the LA Kings.
Perhaps that will begin to quiet down the naysayers that have used all kinds of qualifiers to tamp down enthusiasm over a 7-0-1 Bruins start to the season that’s impressive any way its broken down. After it was all over, Jim Montgomery sounded a satisfactory tone for the first time this season at the way the Bruins competed and executed at both ends of the ice.
“I thought that we neutralized their speed through their rush attack,” said Montgomery. “I thought we protected our house from the back of the net and from the passes to the slot. It's a real gifted offensive team there, the Red Wings are, and I thought our focus on defense and our focus on offense, both of them, the game plan, the players went out and executed it great.”
Clearly it was a good bounce-back game for both McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, who were both on the ice for Thursday night’s third period nosedive against the Ducks.
Obviously, there was quality defense from the Bruins holding a fast, high-powered Wings group to a single goal even as Jeremy Swayman (23 saves) was his usually strong self, but there also David Pastrnak extending Boston’s lead in the third period even as Detroit was creeping back into the contest.
Nobody would have blamed even the most ardent Bruins fan for sounding the alarm when the Red Wings made it a 2-1 game in the third, a moment that came fresh off the B’s blowing a two-goal third-period lead two nights earlier against the Anaheim Ducks. Instead, Pastrnak flexed a little superstar muscle and, for the second time this month, electrified the Garden crowd with a penalty shot snipe that Ville Husso had zero chance of stopping.
Snipe City, USA pic.twitter.com/YC69y7mezq
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 29, 2023
“We’re down 2-1. I mean, everyone in the building can feel it. You guys probably thought we were going to tie that game up,” said Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, lamenting the loss after it was over. “We hit a post, we had a Grade-A look, and then we just make a soft play, a little saucer through the middle of the ice and that ends up being a power play. So again, little areas of our game we can manage much better.”
It's an interesting perspective from the Red Wings bench boss, but the game never gets away from the Wings if the Bruins don’t step up and make a few plays. Or if Pastrnak doesn’t bury a few more goals as he did with the highlight reel penalty shot pump fake and roof move, and then a textbook smart play with the empty net that ended up going in after he banked it off the boards.
“We’re just trying to do our jobs. I think there’s another level that we can get to, which is encouraging,” said McAvoy. “We’re still getting results even though I think the sky is still the limit for this team, especially offensively once we get that going.”
The Bruins are 14th in the NHL averaging 3.25 goals per game and they’re 17th in the NHL with a power play that’s cranking at just 17.2 percent. At the other end of the rink the B’s are leading the NHL with a 1.50 goals against average and a .947 team save percentage, and tops in the NHL in both categories by a wide, wide margin.
Those are important numbers behind their success. But perhaps more importantly, they showed an ability to close out a tight third period game after stumbling previously at crunch time against the Ducks.
“It was huge for us to win a game like this, especially being good in the third period after the game before that,” said Zacha. “It was big for us to have a really good third and to secure the win.”
And the surprising B’s are playing the defense, goaltending and opportunistic offensive game plan even against quality opponents coming their way. It will be telling to see if this can continue against the Panthers and Maple Leafs this week as the newest tests in store for the Black and Gold, but it feels like it’s about time to buy into everything we’re seeing over the first month with this Centennial edition of the Boston Bruins.