On fire: B’s tie NHL record, rip Chicago
The Bruins did not play a perfect game on Saturday. If they did, the B’s might have scored 15 goals against the rebuilding/tanking Chicago Blackhawks. But that might be the only nit to pick in the B’s dizzying performance in their 6-1 victory at the Garden.
So, they did not connect on everything, but the B’s fired more than enough pucks behind a beleaguered Petr Mrazek to capture their 11th victory in as many tries at the Garden, tying an NHL record.
Jeremy Swayman returned to action after nearly three weeks off and recorded the rocking chair victory.
“I had the best seat in the house,” said Swayman. “It’s special. Some of the passes being made, the guys having confidence making moves that some guys would only do in practice and these guys are doing it like it’s nothing. It’s a special team to be a part of and a fun team to be a part of.”
The B’s, who held a 4318 shot advantage, equaled the 1963-64 Blackhawks (these Hawks are nothing like those Hawks) and last season’s Florida Panthers for the most home wins without a loss to start a season. If they want to set a new mark, it’s a good bet they’ll face a stiffer test. After two games in Florida on Monday (the Lightning) and Wednesday (the Panthers), the B’s can set the record when they face the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that ended their season last year, in the traditional Black Friday game later this week.
David Pastrnak led the B’s with a pair of goals (10, 11), Charlie McAvoy notched four assists and Brad Marchand added three helpers in a game that was not in doubt from the opening minutes, even though the B’s didn’t pull away until late in the second. Eleven different skaters notched at least a point as the B’s improved
their record to 16-2, with a stunning plus-38 goal differential.
While David Krejci took a big step forward in the B’s previous game, this was McAvoy’s turn took look like his old self. Seemingly taking coach Jim Montgomery’s new go-go style out for his first real test drive, McAvoy was all over the offensive zone.
“A couple of fun shifts,” said McAvoy, who missed the first month of the season
following shoulder surgery. “Just trying to make some stuff happen, feeling confident with the puck, legs feel good, brain feels good. I’m trying to move quick and use my first reads. It’s certainly easy when you’re playing with guys with this much skill. Up and down the lineup, we’ve got a lot of special players and I’m just trying to let my instincts take over and be in positions where I can help guys.”
The Bruins had gotten
into the habit in recent games of meandering into the first period, but that was not the case on Saturday. The played on their toes from the drop of the puck and steamrolled their opponent, outshooting the Blackhawks 15-3 — and that count was not even indicative of how much the B’s over-matched Chicago.
But the B’s could manage only one measly goal, a power-play tally from Pastrnak. After Marchand drew
the first penalty of the game, he gathered a bouncing puck on the left wing and wired a pass to Pastrnak on the right side for the 1-0 lead at 4:53.
The B’s had to kill off a good chunk of a penalty to start the second period after Connor Clifton took umbrage with a late-ish Colin Blackwell hit on Patrice Bergeron late in the first. They did so without much of a problem and then went back on the attack.
They doubled the lead at 4:28 on a Bergeron goal that finished off a Sweet Georgia Brown shift, as the captain finally converted a McAvoy pass into a half empty net for his ninth goal of the season and 999th career point.
But the B’s couldn’t put it on cruise control just yet. The Blackhawks halved the lead at 10:37 after Brandon Carlo was sent off when he dove to break up a Hawk attack and ended up in a tripping call. On the man advantage, Jonathan Toews tipped a Max Domi blue line shot past Swayman and, somehow, the Blackhawks were just one shot away from tying the game. That was the Chicago highlight.
Much like the first period, the B’s stormed the Chicago zone but just missed on a handful of chances. But they finally delivered the knockout punch with two goals in 1:08 late in the period.
The B’s pushed it back to a two-goal lead with another power-play goal after Toews had to haul down Hall in front of the net. On the advantage, Marchand found Jake DeBrusk at the top of the crease for a redirect, DeBrusk’s seventh of the season.
Then, with 42 seconds left in the period, a tic-tactoe play went from McAvoy to A.J. Greer to Krejci, who stepped into a slapper to whistle it past Mrazek. And that was that.
Pastrnak and Hall added a couple of goals in the third to give the score an appropriate blowout feel.
Now the hard work begins for the B’s. Ten of their next 11 opponents are currently inside the playoff structure. There’s not a patsy in sight.
“It’s unfathomable that we were going to have this start, right?” said Montgomery. “So we’re enjoying the ride right now, but we know our schedule’s getting really hard. But it’s nice to be part of the record books. One thing we wanted to do was stay focused on the present, on the next shift, and I thought we did a great job of that.”