BOSTON — In order to tally three crucial unanswered goals, the Boston Bruins first needed to get on the board. That’s where David Pastrnak came through and delivered one picture-perfect goal against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Pastrnak’s unexpected — to say the least — goal uplifted a previously underwhelming Bruins offense to their 3-2 win at TD Garden.
After the Bruins came face-to-face with a 2-0 deficit after the opening period, Pastrnak netted the puck past Connor Hellebuyck. Pastrnak got some luck with Nick Foligno’s entry pass taking a strange bounce off the end boards and the fortunate ricochet led the puck to the middle of the ice, which Pastrnak took full advantage of.
“Yeah, that was a nice one, for sure,” Pastrnak said. “… Don’t get many of these, so it was a nice bounce.”
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery hadn’t come across a goal alike through his six-year NHL career. When asked, Montgomery mentioned how such a lucky bounce typically occurs when a team is clicking. And at that point in the contest, the Bruins were not.
“I haven’t really noticed in the past, that fortuitous bounce like that,” Montgomery said. “It usually happens when everything’s going your way and your team’s playing well. We were not playing to our game at that point.”
Jeremy Swayman, like Pastrnak, delivered when needed the most. Swayman finished the night with 25 saves and kept the Jets off the scoreboard for the final two periods of the game. He mentioned how he tries to avoid similar scenarios from taking place but also acknowledged that they can’t be predicted.
“That’s a bounce that happens in games,” Swayman said. “Can’t really predict that and it just came our way so we’re fortunate. … You’re not gonna predict it. The puck comes so fast. I tend to stay away from rim pucks toward the glass.”
Nevertheless, it all worked out for the Bruins who notched their third straight win and NHL-best 18th on home ice.
