Boston Bruins
Breaking Apart the Bruins’ Sixth-Straight Win
In a season defined by streaks, both good and bad, the Bruins fought back against an early deficit and scored five unanswered goals to notch their sixth straight win.
The Boston Bruins (28-19-2) took down the Chicago Blackhawks (19-22-7), 5-2, at the United Center on Saturday night.
The Bruins, in part, credited the boost they received from their siblings. However, like many of their previous five wins, the Bruins played to their structure, stayed out of the box, and saw goal-scoring from both sides of the lineup.
The Bruins held true to their five-on-five structure, and they have been rock-solid late in games. In the six-game win streak, the Bruins have not allowed a goal in the final 20 minutes. On the other hand, they have scored seven, including two tonight.
“Could feel it today, guys had really good energy,” Marco Sturm said about the game. “Maybe it was the siblings, I don’t know. But, we got the job done because we just played our game.”
“The guys had really good legs today,” Sturm added. “Guys were skating, especially our [defense], and they gave us some big, big, big goals.”
Boston has heavily leaned on their five-on-five game throughout their six-game win streak. Saturday night was no different. Boston limited Chicago to eight high-danger opportunities, compared to Boston’s 12. Chicago had only 15 scoring chances while Boston had 21.
The Bruins looked as if they took their foot off the gas pedal at the end of the first. After piling on the first eight shots, Chicago scored twice and registered the last six shots.
The response started from the blue line. Charlie McAvoy fired a shot from the slot, which beat Arvid Soderblom on his glove side.
“I’ve been trying tojump in the play more recently, responsibly,” McAvoy said about joining the attack. “Try and be a threat, try and be a part of it. I think it’s been effective; it’s been going well. [I’ve] been able to contribute when I get down there.”
On his 25th birthday, Mason Lohrei found the back of the net twice, including once in the second period. It came on the same day as Lohrei’s name surfaced in trade rumors.
“I think it’s just about getting my feet moving a little more and finding that open space,” Lohrei said about generating more shots. “I feel like I do that pretty well. So, getting back to doing that and then getting pucks to the net.”
“For [Mason], it was probably his best game as a Bruin,” Sturm said.
Lohrei had two goals on three shots, played for 17:21, and was named the game’s first star.
Viktor Arvidsson extended his current point streak to seven games on Saturday. In that span, he has four goals and four assists; one goal came against the Blackhawks. He connected with Pavel Zacha on a give-and-go play for the Bruins’ third goal of the night.
The Bruins skated to a sound third period, much like they have over the course of their streak. Although the Blackhawks outshot the Bruins 10-6, Boston added two goals.
“Having that confidence now,” the Bruins’ head coach said about his team’s performance in the third period. “We’re not afraid, because we know in the past it was our best period. That’s the mindset we had today.”
On the final Bruins goal, David Pastrnak drew a slew of Blackhawks defensemen away from the net on a forced turnover from Elias Lindholm. That play afforded Marat Khusnutdinov the lane to drive towards Soderblom’s crease. Khusnutdinov drove, and Pastrnak played the puck directly to his stick, making the fifth Bruins’ goal very easy-looking.
“He’s just getting better every year, and it’s fun to see,” Pavel Zacha said about his fellow countryman broadening his game as aplaymaker. “You saw how many players were on there, everyone expecting him to shoot. That was three guys on him; he still made a play for an empty-net for Khusnutdinov.”
Joonas Korpisalo made 22 saves in the Bruins 5-2 win. He has won his last three starts and improved his season record to 9-8-0.
The goaltenders have played a pivotal role in the Bruins’ six-game win streak. The black and gold have only conceded seven goals in the past six games, and have two shutouts mixed in to that stretch.
“One, it’s been great goaltending,” Charlie McAvoy said about the win streak. “Two, it’s been us just kind of sticking to our system.”
So has staying out of the penalty box; the Bruins only took one penalty on Saturday.
It has been some of the same factors contributing to the last six Bruins wins, but it displays the consistency of the structure the Bruins have searched for all year.
“It’s just another good effort today,” Marco Sturm added. “Things are going right now, too. So, we’re going to take that, hopefully, to Dallas.”
The Bruins will continue their siblings’ trip on Tuesday night in Dallas, Texas, with a matchup against the Stars (27-12-9).
