'Luckily it went in'
The Boston Bruins bounced back from their first loss of the season, defeating the Anaheim Ducks at TD Garden on Thursday to record their first shootout victory of the season.
Taylor Hall, who netted the game-decider after three periods of regulation plus overtime, partook in the pivotal crunch-time effort in order to give the Bruins their fourth win of the season and described his mindset in the shootout.
“Just tried to get some speed and take a look where the holes were as I came across the slot there,” Hall said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Tried to get him moving a little bit and once I did, I saw his five-hole open up, and luckily it went in.”
Watch Hall slip the puck past Ducks goalie John Gibson and deliver the game-winner here:
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery credited Hall following the game, describing him as Boston’s “best skater” during the contest.
“I thought Taylor Hall was our best skater tonight,” Montgomery said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage, “Linus was our best player. I thought he (skated) hard. I thought he protected pucks. I bet he had the puck on his stick for about 45 seconds tonight. And when a gifted offensive player like Taylor Hall has the puck on his stick a lot he feels better about himself.”
Hall’s regulation goal marked the second goal of the season for the 30-year-old veteran.
The Bruins, now 4-1 on the season, remain atop the Atlantic Division through five contests in the books. Boston will remain on home ice, next taking on the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden. Puck drop on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.