Recap: The Bruins defeated Kraken 2-0 to earn two shutouts in a row

The Boston Bruins defeated the Seattle Kraken 2-0 at TD Garden on Sunday to secure their second straight win – and a shutout – this weekend.

The B's defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 in their first shutout on Saturday.

“You can see us coming together,” Jim Montgomery said. “We protect the place, we sacrifice for each other.”

The Bruins started the game quickly with active defense on the blue line. Pucks ended up in the net and the Bruins stayed in the offensive zone.

Justin Brazeau fired off a long shot from Nikita Zadarov to give the team a quick lead in the first period.

As the B's pressed, they had to make three power plays in the first game. In the first period, Brad Marchand set up Charlie Coyle along the goal line where he beat Joey Daccord.

Seattle had a hard time getting anything going as the Bruins virtually shut down their offense in the first game, limiting the Kraken to just three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes. They only registered their first shot after 15 minutes, when they were outnumbered.

But then the Kraken found a little life and the Bruins couldn't match the energy from the first third in the middle frame.

“Our implementation needs to continue to grow,” Montgomery said. “Our maturity as a team when it comes to game management still needs to grow.”

In the second period it was a goaltending game with timely saves on both sides.

In the third period, Seattle outscored the Bruins 13 to 3, but the B's held on – despite the Kraken hitting the post twice – to pick up their second win of the weekend.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

At the top, Justin Brazeau redirected Nikita Zadorov's shot from the point past Joey Daccord at 3:23 of the first period. 1-0 Bruins.

Brad Marchand saw Charlie Coyle at the goal line to give him a pass across the goal. Coyle took his time, worked the stick a little to get Daccord just enough out, then pushed him over the goal line on the power play at 9:57 of the first period. 2-0 Bruins.

Second period:

No goals

Third period:

No goals

Final score: 2-0 Bruins.

Game notes

• After the game, the Bruins, especially Coyle and Charlie McAvoy, agreed that this was a mental victory for them. Coyle talked about what flipped the switch after the Carolina game and how he tried to get himself mentally out of it.

“Our game hasn’t progressed in the right direction at all,” Coyle said. “This is what you want to take advantage of next, it's another opportunity to get better… You don't have to play a perfect game. There will be mistakes, but let's be tough. Let’s own up to our mistakes.”

Coyle said the team was quiet before games, but in the last two years there has been more conversation before going on the ice to recharge. He said there were more people involved in the game preparation in the locker room and not just one or two players doing all the talking.

“It kind of requires everyone to take more responsibility and just create that energy,” Coyle said.

• “There’s been a lot of soul searching here,” Charlie McAvoy said. “A lot of people are trying to find their games, myself included.”

The Bruins tried to simplify their game by defending hard and building from there. For him, McAvoy said, it's about changing his mindset and no longer viewing the slump as a negative but instead focusing on coming through on the other side. Tonight that meant shooting the puck.

Montgomery said he thought tonight was McAvoy's best game of the season. The defender had seven shots on net.

“I tried to just move the pucks quickly, play hard defensively and be predictable,” McAvoy said. “I had opportunities to shoot the puck tonight and I had the mindset to shoot first and that was due in large part to the power play.”

• Defensively, this was one of the Bruins' better games in a long time. In addition to the offense they brought, they also protected the slot in the net. Looking at the numbers, the Bruins had 27 blocked shots tonight. And with so much time in the O-Zone and the strong presence on the boards, there were fewer oddball rushes – and fewer scoring opportunities for the Kraken. “We spend more time in the ozone zone, which gives you more energy to defend yourself if something does happen,” Montgomery said.
• Montgomery benched David Pastrnak for the third time. When asked about the game, he said it was a “coach’s decision.” Charlie McAvoy and Coyle both said there is accountability across the team. Coyle said Pastrnak was still vocal on the bench but didn't know exactly why that happened.
• The Bruins will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, November 5th at 7 p.m