BOSTON — There were extended stretches Monday where goals were not easy to come by as the Boston Bruins hosted the Ottawa Senators in an eventual 3-1 victory at TD Garden.
Fortunately for the Bruins, they were able to set the tone defensively as highlighted by a key first-period effort. The Black and Gold were forced to kill off a 5-on-3 for 1:50 after a tripping penalty by Craig Smith at 9:16 and a hooking penalty by Patrice Bergeron at 9:27. Boston, however, made easy work despite that two-man disadvantage and it went a long way in keeping the game tied at the first intermission.
“(That was) really important,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said after the game. “They’re one of the best power plays in the league and we had to go five on three for a long time, extended period. And again, the penalty killers plus Linus (Ullmark), he was excellent tonight.”
Ullmark stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced during Monday’s matinee. He came up with a handful of clutch stops all while Boston killed off all three of the Senators’ power-play opportunities.
The Bruins continue to own the league’s best penalty kill having an 86.2% success rate entering Monday’s contest.
“It’s huge. It’s always been huge,” Ullmark said. “You want to score goals on the power play and you want to keep puck out of the net on the PK. The guys have been doing a terrific job and it feels like they know what their task is at hand and for me it’s easier to read.”
The offensive contributions of David Pastrnak (two goals) and Charlie McAvoy (three assists) somewhat overshadowed that early defensive stand given their own importance, but there’s no doubt the under-the-radar moment helped Boston claim another two points at home.
The Bruins will look to keep that momentum rolling as they head out West for a four-game road trip. Boston opens up the trip Thursday against the Seattle Kraken with puck drop set for 10 p.m. ET, which you can watch live on NESN.
