BOSTON — The Boston Bruins wrapped up their home opener with a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at TD Garden.
The Bruins improved to 2-0 on the season, while the Coyotes fell to 0-2.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins set the tone early, however, could’ve had more to show for it.
What amounted to a late nail-bitter ultimately began in dominant fashion for the Bruins.
Keeping early offensive momentum rolling after the Bruins’ five-goal showing to kick off their year on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals, Boston began their play in front of the home crowd in a very similar fashion — tallying twice once again in the opening period against the Coyotes.
The Bruins had to overcome some sloppy late-game play in the final two periods, in which they were without defensemen Brandon Carlo, who exited the game with an upper-body injury after the first period, and Charlie McAvoy who’s still working his way back along with Matt Grzelcyk.
Arizona’s offense worked a late-game comeback against the Bruins, responding with back-to-back goals to open up the third period.
Thanks to Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort, who delivered in crunch time, Boston escaped with the win.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Pavel Zacha got Boston’s scoring going early in the first period, netting his first goal in a Bruins uniform in the process. Zacha, who also registered an assist, finished his night with three shots on goal, playing 12:36 against the Coyotes.
— Nick Foligno, who notched his 500th career NHL point after assisting Zacha’s goal. The veteran forward also recorded his first goal of the season after scoring in the game’s second period.
— The game-decider came from Forbort, who delivered in the final period of play. Forbort broke a 3-3 deadlock with 10:31 remaining in the game on a wrist shot.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Zacha serving as the game’s opening scorer at +1500, to which the 25-year-old center came through quickly. A $100 bet on Zacha would’ve resulted in a $1,600 payout.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins will follow up their win when they next face off against the Florida Panthers on Monday at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame and postgame coverage live on NESN.
