The Blues held the Bruins to one goal after two periods, but a strong third period helped Boston earn the victory Monday night.
The Black and Gold beat St. Louis, 3-1, at TD Garden. The win improved Boston’s record to 7-0-0 at home, and it was a showcase of the Bruins’ strength on special teams.
Patrice Bergeron scored the game-winning goal on the power play, which made the Bruins 2-for-2 on the man-advantage, and the B’s were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
“I feel like we’re pretty aggressive trying to take the passing lanes away,” Bergeron told NESN’s Andrew Raycroft on the Bruins’ effectiveness on the penalty kill, as seen on the network’s postgame coverage. “They’re talented. They’re gonna make some plays, and I felt like we blocked a lot of shots tonight. Linus, obviously, made some some great saves. Overall, that’s an area where we want to do the job, and I think it’s been going well, so we’re gonna keep that going.”
“Well, I think (assistant) coach (Joe) Sacco has everybody on the same page, everybody’s pressuring at the right times,” head coach Jim Montgomery added on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Our best penalty killer has been our goaltender at big moments, and I think we’re getting a lot of blocks and a lot of clears.”
Jake DeBrusk scored the game’s opening power-play goal, and St. Louis native Trent Frederic scored the third goal to give the Bruins a cushion late in the contest. The two third-period goals improved Boston’s play in the final period. The Bruins have a league-best plus-13 goal-differential in the third period.
“I think it’s a combination of our players wearing teams down over the course of the first two periods and our players take great care of themselves. We got a lot of true professionals in there that are in tremendous shape,” Montgomery said on why the Bruins have been effective in the final period.
Here are some more notes from Monday’s Bruins-Blues:
— The Bruins are now 1-0-0 in their reverse retro “Pooh Bear” jerseys, and the players, especially Brad Marchand, enjoyed playing in them.
“They look unbelievable,” Marchand told Raycroft prior to the start of the game. “We got a lot of twos on our team, and they’re looking like tens tonight.”
— Boston’s run at home is the second-best stretch in franchise history, matching the 1983-84 season when the Bruins started 8-0-0 while averaging 5.8 goals per game and allowing 2.5 per game, per NESN’s postgame coverage. The 2022-23 B’s are averaging 3.9 goals at home and have allowed an average of 1.9 goals per game.
— Linus Ullmark has had to carry more of the load due to Jeremy Swayman’s injury, but the goaltender continued his stellar play at home. In five home games, the 29-year-old is undefeated with a 1.77 goals against average and a .942 save percentage, per NESN’s postgame coverage.
— Marchand has admitted he is not fully recovered from his double hip surgery, but his play on the ice would tell a different story. The left winger has six power-play points since returning on Oct. 27, and he notched two assists Monday night after reaching 800 career points Saturday.
— Before the game, Boston honored franchise legend Peter McNab, who died at the age of 70 on Sunday. McNab played with the B’s for eight years from 1976-84 and was a beloved player in the city.
— The Bruins will take on the Calgary Flames at TD Garden on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage of the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, using NESN 360.
