Bruins Notes: ‘Pace, Purpose’ Propel Boston Bounce Back

After dropping their last two games, the Boston Bruins returned to the win column by defeating the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 on Thursday night.

Before the game, head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about the team not “playing in the moment,” Boston dug deep and returned to the league-leading team that has dominated opponents most of the season.

“I thought we played with a lot of pace and purpose,” Montgomery said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “You could tell we were skating right away.”

Montgomery praised the play of the fourth line; Tomas Nosek, Garnet Hathaway and Jakub Lauko.

“They were a really determined group, and unfortunately, we took a lot of penalties, or else I would have liked to have them play about 12 to 14 minutes because they had an impact and tilted the ice every time they were on it.”

Winnipeg outshot the Bruins 36-24 in the game, but Montgomery was was pleased with the Black and Gold’s effort.

“Our game management and all four lines, every defenseman, and of course, Swayman was great for 60 minutes,” he said. “I really thought we closed out the game in the third period was reminiscent of the old team we had.”

Bruins Wrap: Boston Ends Two-Game Skid Via Shutout

Mar 16, 2023

Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Jets Game

— Jakub Lauko finally cracked the lineup after being recalled on an emergency basis and reassigned to Providence numerous times since Sunday. Lauko put two shots on net in just 6:29 of ice time.

— Derek Forbort, who suffered a lower-body injury in the second period, did not return to the ice for the third period. The veteran defenseman isn’t expected to play on the rest of the Bruins’ trip, Montgomery told reporters.

— Swayman turned away all 36 shots he faced, including 10 on the penalty kill, for his third shutout of the season.

— Pavel Zacha scored his career-high 18th goal in the first period.

— The Bruins will continue their five-game road trip on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop from Excel Energy Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.