Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner enjoyed the most productive games of their respective NHL careers Friday night in Pittsburgh.
The young Boston Bruins forwards — Vatrano is 21; Spooner, 23 — formed a deadly offensive duo in their team’s 6-2 blowout of the Penguins, with the former notching his first NHL hat trick and the latter setting a new career high for points in a game with four assists.
“I think we were just trying to keep things simple,” Vatrano told NESN rinkside reporter Sarah Davis. “In the past few games, we’ve been producing a good amount, and we always talk about spending a lot of time in the offensive zone instead of our D-zone.
“The biggest thing with us is possessing the puck, and I think we did a good job of that (Friday night), and I think we put more pucks on net than we usually do. I think just by putting pucks on net and keeping it simple, that’s what rewarded us.”
Points have not come easily for the current linemates this season. Vatrano had been held off the score sheet in 13 of his first 15 NHL games entering Friday, while Spooner recently endured a streak of 20 consecutive games without an even-strength goal that finally came to an end last Saturday.
“I went through a stretch there where I think I went 15 games without scoring 5-on-5 or something like that,” Spooner told reporters after Friday’s game, as aired on “Bruins Overtime LIVE.” “That’s not good. So yeah, as soon as (head coach Claude Julien) said that, I kind of said to myself that we’ve got to be a lot better as a line, and I think we have been, for sure.”
They certainly have. In the Bruins’ last three games, third-liners Vatrano, Spooner and Jimmy Hayes have combined for 12 points. Spooner, who assisted on all three Vatrano goals as well as a power-play tally by Loui Eriksson, has been particularly hot, racking up six points during that span and 10 (three goals, seven assists) over his last six contests.
For Vatrano, the three-goal night more than doubled his career goal total, which sat at two entering the game. It also snapped a nine-game pointless streak for the rookie that dated back to Nov. 25.
“He’s been shooting a lot lately, and the puck just hasn’t gone in for him,” goalie Tuukka Rask told reporters. “And (Friday) — I always say, when they come, they come in bunches. He stuck with it, and (Friday), they came in bunches. Good for him.”
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
