The Boston Bruins handily defeated a division rival Wednesday night, and the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined to tally zero points.
Yes, you’re reading that correctly.
The B’s extended their win streak to five games with a dominant 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden thanks to strong performances from a number of role players. For a team that often has relied on stellar outings from its star players, the victory over the Sens has to be a huge welcome sign.
Kevan Miller played one of his best games in a Bruins uniform. The veteran defenseman opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, a thunderous slap shot past the glove side of Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson. Miller also was strong on the defensive end, as his plus-four rating was a tie for the game-high alongside Danton Heinen.
Heinen, who was one of the least talked about rookies entering the season, also had a terrific night for Boston. He logged an assist and buried Boston’s second goal of the game thanks to a brilliant feed from Ryan Spooner, who also has been finding his groove within the team’s offense of late.
It was Riley Nash, though, who really stole the show. While the second-line center hasn’t exactly been counted on for goal scoring this season, he provided the bulk of the offense for the Bruins against the Senators. The 27-year-old tallied his third and fourth goals of the season, both of which came as a result of strong individual efforts.
Elsewhere, Tim Schaller and Matt Grzelcyk both provided major contributions to the victory. While Schaller logged a team-low in time on ice and a team-high in penalty minutes, his first-period brawl with Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson galvanized the B’s and really set the tone for the rest of the game. Grzelcyk, on the other hand, posted a game-high two assists and added a plus-three rating. Though he’s expected to be the odd man out upon Adam McQuaid’s return, his recent play certainly will make it tough on head coach Bruce Cassidy.
It’s important for the Bruins to win games in the fashion they did Wednesday night. Though it’s very rare for Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak to fail to make noise in the box score, Boston is beginning to prove that it still can get the job done without superstar efforts from the top line. As the B’s continue to get healthy and grow as a collective unit, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be one of the stronger teams in the Eastern Conference as the season progresses.
Here are some other notes from Bruins-Senators:
— With the win, Boston leapfrogged the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division.
— The Bruins have allowed one goal or less in each of their last four games.
— Goalie Tuukka Rask is 9-0-1 in his last 10 starts.
— Heinen ranks tied for fourth in scoring among all NHL rookies with 24 points.
— The B’s play the second night of a back-to-back Thursday when they take on the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Boston hasn’t beaten Washington since March 2014.
