Bruins Notes: Boston’s Seventh Straight Win Fueled By ‘Fight For Each Other’

The Boston Bruins never trailed in their game with the New York Rangers on Thursday night, ending up taking home a commanding 5-2 win from Madison Square Garden — but a spark was needed before they could break away in the third period.

After completely dominating the first period, Boston came out slow in the second and allowed New York to tie the game halfway through the period. With the Rangers playing a more physical brand of hockey and dominating puck possession, the Bruins needed a spark to get things rolling again. They got one from an unlikely pair.

Trent Frederic absorbed a huge hit from Braden Schneider less than a minute after New York’s first goal, prompting A.J. Greer to immediately run Schneider and stick up for his teammate. Frederic, never one to be left out of a fight, picked one of his own with Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow. After the two Bruins put the paws on their opponents, order was restored and things got back to normal. Boston scored four of the game’s five remaining goals, dominated puck possession and extended its winning streak to seven games.

Nick Foligno talked about how the fights represented something bigger following the game.

“There’s a lot of great guys in that room. Lot of great young guys that care a lot about this group, too, and you saw that with Greer and Frederic stepping up and fighting for one another,” Foligno told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, per the network’s broadcast. “That’s the way it works in this room. The Boston Bruins, playing against them it was always their M.O., and now being a part of it I can see why. It’s a recipe for success.”

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Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Rangers game:

— David Pastrnak scored an unbelievable goal to open things up in the first period, sparking a self comparison to another skilled scorer.

“It was a surprising goal to me. To be honest, I don’t score many with the backhand” Pastrnak told Kaplan. “I felt like Patrick Kane there for a second. I would say it was a nice goal, it was a pretty good period for us.”

— Boston handed New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin his first regulation loss of the season. The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner had been 6-0-2 entering the night.

— Foligno added two more assists to his bounce-back campaign Thursday. He spoke about what he’s done to improve following a turbulent 2021-22 postgame.

“I just wanted to come in and know that the work I put in was going to be rewarded,” Foligno told Kaplan. “I put last year behind me and made sure that this — just play to the abilities I have and have fun. This group has allowed me to do that. I care a lot about this team and what we’re trying to do here. I feel grateful every day.”

— The Bruins will wrap up a four-game road trip Saturday, traveling to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on NESN, with an hour of pre -and postgame coverage.