Talking Points: Boston Bruins Mount Comeback Win Over Jets

BOSTON – Here are the Talking Points from the Boston Bruins 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden on Thursday night.

GOLD STAR: It could actually be the board stanchion that created a wild bounce right in front of the net on a Nick Foligno dump-in attempt, but the gold star instead goes to David Pastrnak finishing off that early Christmas gift by firing it into the net. The Pastrnak goal in the second period finally saw the Boston Bruins get a puck past Connor Hellebuyck when he couldn’t recover in time to stop Pasta’s shot, and gave them lift after they’d stopped Winnipeg a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. Pastrnak wasn’t done, however, as he orchestrated the power play goal that tied it up as well with a shot on net that Jake DeBrusk redirected while camped out in front of the paint. That gave Pastrnak a hand in both goals that tied things up and allowed him to finish with six shots on net and nine overall shot attempts in 18:34 of ice time to go along with his goal, two points and minus-1 rating.

That bounce was a Christmas miracle for the Bruins.

David Pastrnak buries it for Boston.

2-1 game. pic.twitter.com/YUmZKTUHAG

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 23, 2022

BLACK EYE: Taylor Hall has been very good lately, but had just a single shot on net in a quiet night for him while also taking a bit of a frustration penalty at the end of the first period that wasn’t great judgement. It obviously worked out for the Bruins in the game and Hall rebounded from the mistake to course correct in the final 40 minutes of the game, but it wasn’t his best hockey while finishing with a couple of giveaways in addition to the offensive zone penalty that continues to pile up the penalties that the Boston Bruins have been taking this month.

TURNING POINT: It would be obvious to say David Pastrnak’s second period gal when one fortunate bounce really turned the momentum of the game, but give the Boston Bruins credit for earning that bounce with the way they played in the second period. Clearly not happy with a first period that saw them give up two goals, the Bruins outshot the Jets by a 16-6 margin in the second period and really took control of the game while scoring a pair of goals to tie things up headed into the third. That set the B’s up to play a strong third period that felt like a continuation of the second.

HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Foligno didn’t have a dominant game by any means, but he was right in the thick of a pair of scoring plays that served a big role in the win. It was Foligno that dumped the puck into the offensive zone that then kicked off a stanchion and landed directly in front of David Pastrnak skating into the slot for Boston’s first goal. Then Nick Foligno teamed up with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic in the third period for a strong, heavy shift where Coyle fed to Foligno in the high slot for the go-ahead goal. Foligno otherwise only finished with a couple of shots on net in 12:03 of ice time, but he made a huge play late in the third period that set Boston up for the win.

BY THE NUMBERS: 77 – the percentage of faceoff wins for Patrice Bergeron in a game where he won 17-of-22 draws and dominated in the circle while being pretty quiet in most other areas of the game.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “All I could think of was ‘just hit the net.’ I knew [Hellebuyck] was going to make an effort to come back, so I was just hoping I wouldn’t hit him.” –David Pastrnak on what was going through his mind prior to scoring his second period goal that helped spark Boston’s comeback from a two-goal deficit.