close
close
  • Tue. Nov 5th, 2024
    • '
    Bruins play with speed and emotion in comeback win
    News

    Bruins play with speed and emotion in comeback win

    author
    7 minutes, 37 seconds Read

    Bruins

    “I loved our effort. I felt like our second and third tries were really good,” Jim Montgomery said after the game.

    Bruins play with speed and emotion in comeback win

    Brad Marchand sealed Saturday's game with an unanswered goal. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

    For a rare moment in this early part of the regular season, the Boston Bruins looked like a cohesive hockey club for 60 minutes.

    From the first puck drop to the final whistle, Jim Montgomery's club managed a whopping 200 feet.

    While there were some lengthy defensive zone shifts in midfield, the Bruins' mishaps were kept to a minimum during Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. More importantly, they developed healthier habits on offense, resulting in crisper passes, more chances to score on dangerous attacks, and a more opportunistic counterattack.

    With another productive effort from Joonas Korpisalo and a timely goal from their middle six, the Bruins secured the necessary 3-0 win.

    Bruins play with speed and emotion.

    Of all the troubling trends of October's Boston swoon, the slow skating, static power play and sluggish pursuit stood out in every contest.

    These troubling developments, along with the inappropriate penalties, surfaced during Thursday's lopsided 8-2 loss at Carolina. When the Bruins arrived in Philly in the early hours of Friday morning, they decided to abandon their scheduled practice for a mental reset.

    When they arrived at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, the Bruins appeared refreshed and focused. This was reflected in her performance on the ice.

    From the start, the Bruins were physical with the pucks, getting the pucks deep into the attacking half and keeping Korpisalo's goal area clean for the most part. They fought for each of their three points with speed and emotion, starting with Matthew Poitras completing a powerful sequence for his first goal of the season at 13:28 of the first frame.

    Whether it was Brad Marchand shielding a puck from Rasmus Ristolainen to set up Justin Brazeau's second-period tally or a late-game scrum led by Trent Frederic and Travis Konecny, the Bruins had each other's backs free.

    “I loved our effort. I felt like our second and third tries were really good,” Montgomery said during his postgame interview with NESN’s Andy Brickley. “Our mental game was by no means perfect, but this performance has overcome some of our mistakes and I think the players will be a little more relaxed now.”

    In fact, Montgomery and the Bruins can breathe a little easier after Marchand's empty net. But en route to their fifth win of the season, they needed their goalie to do some cleanup work.

    Korpisalo stood strong during Boston's lull in the second period.

    Unlike Saturday's meeting, the Bruins hardly looked like a well-stocked squad in Tuesday's matchup against the same Flyers. During that 2-0 setback, the Bruins succumbed to Philly's strong shot blocking and left Korpsialo out in the cold in his first start in nearly two weeks.

    A similar fate befell Korpisalo as a replacement for Jeremy Swayman during Thursday's defeat in Raleigh. The Bruins knew they would turn to him for one of their two assignments this weekend.

    With Korpisalo holding his own on Tuesday, Montgomery and goalkeeping coach Bob Essensa gave the Swede another chance against the Flyers. While he hasn't seen as much traffic in his last two starts, Korpisalo has remained steady when the Bruins have had mishaps.

    In fact, Montgomery's squad limited turnovers and penalty problems compared to Saturday. But they ran into some turmoil in the second period as top duo Nikita Zadorov and Charlie McAvoy spent over two minutes on the ice on consecutive shifts, spending most of the time on defense trying to regain possession of the puck and clear the zone amid Philly's rebounding .

    The Flyers achieved their best looks during these periods of events in the middle frame. Korpisalo remained calm and composed, making his best saves of the afternoon in the middle of midfield, including a long stop on Morgan Frost after a moment of friendly fire involving Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo.

    Korpisalo made seven of his 20 stops in the second stanza. His timely saves allowed the Bruins to gain the lead they needed in Brazeau's third period.

    “He was wonderful,” Montgomery told Brickley of Korpisalo, “especially in the second half when we had some breaks, and he made two incredible saves.”

    The Bruins will likely sign Swayman for Sunday's starting game against Seattle to complete their first meeting of the 2024-25 season. But one of the few positives from Boston's early-season struggles is that Korpisalo's performance as a substitute in his first five games is an encouraging development.

    The Bruins want to quickly build on Saturday's performance.

    Sometimes losing the first period of back-to-back games can create greater urgency for any NHL team. With very little time to reflect on a loss, a game the next night provides an opportunity to learn from a setback the night before and get up to a fast pace early before heavier legs are called upon.

    In this case, the short turnaround gives the Bruins a chance to build on Saturday's win in Philly. They'll also have fresher legs when the Kraken land in Boston early Sunday morning after their 7 p.m. faceoff in Ottawa.

    More importantly, the Bruins will bring a little more confidence into Sunday afternoon's contest on Causeway Street. And they'll be hoping the attention to detail they showed against the Flyers translates into their second set of consecutive wins this season.

    “It’s hard to come to the rink every day and be really good,” Marchand told NESN’s Andrew Raycroft. “But that’s what makes visiting the ice rink so special. I think we have to be grateful to come to the rink every day. That's why it feels so good to win, because it's so hard and you have to earn it every night – and not just during games. It's in the training, in the meetings… it's in the way you prepare on and off the ice. It’s about always being a good professional and sticking with it.”

    Similar Posts

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *