BHN Talking Points

Talking Points: Boston Bruins Just Keep On Winning

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2022

Here are the Talking Points from the Boston Bruins 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

GOLD STAR: There were myriad Boston Bruins players that earned the honors on Friday night, but it was Jake DeBrusk that really shined throughout the game once again with energy, speed and lamp-lighting ability. DeBrusk had three breakaways in the second period alone, including the final one where he blocked a shot at the blue line and then sped down the other way for a breakaway snipe that pushed Boston to a 3-0 lead. DeBrusk finished with a goal, a plus-2 rating in 16:30 and six shots on net in addition to a couple of hits and a couple of blocked shots in the kind of full performance rarely seen by No. 74 over the last couple of years. The goal gives DeBrusk three on the season, which is absolutely a nice start for the speedy winger.

BLACK EYE: Zach Werenski has long been one of the NHL’s best defensemen, but he finished with a minus-3 rating in a truly forgettable game for the Blue Jackets while finishing with just one shot on net in 23:35 of ice time. It’s been a tough start for a Columbus team that really doesn’t have much hope of getting a playoff spot, and that’s doubly so when players like Werenski start hitting the skids as well.

TURNING POINT: After a fairly even first period where the Bruins took a 1-0 lead while outshooting the Blue Jackets by a close 14-12 margin, Columbus hit a speed bump in the second period when Boston struck for a Charlie Coyle shorthanded goal. It was a trademark Coyle goal where he entered the zone with speed and then put defenders on his back before shoveling a backhand past Elvis Merzlikins to really take the starch out of the Blue Jackets. Once the Bruins went 2-0 with the backbreaking shorthanded goal, it was about the B’s playing out the string and finishing up strong against a Columbus team not putting up much of a fight.

HONORABLE MENTION: It could be David Pastrnak every night and it could be Linus Ullmark most nights as well as the B’s netminder has jumped out to a 6-0-0 start to the season. Tonight we’ll give it to Pastrnak for scoring his 7^th goal that keeps him in pace with the NHL’s league leaders in that category, and for his 11 shot attempts and a team-leading four hits in a game where No. 88 was throwing his weight around. As some of my fellow Boston Bruins scribes are throwing out there, the price of Pastrnak is going up each time he has a big game in the early going this season.

BY THE NUMBERS: 16 – the NHL lead in points, even if it’s short-lived, for David Pastrnak after scoring a goal that capped off Boston’s offensive night with four goals scored against the Blue Jackets. The Bruins also have 16 points in the first nine games of their season, the first time they’ve ever done that in the team’s Original Six history.

QUOTE TO NOTE: No quote, just goalie hugs.