The Bruins got back in the win column in a big way with a shutout victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canadian Life Centre.
Boston bounced back after two straight losses and started on time, looked ready to play and had all lines play a strong game.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s win.
Pavel Zacha sets career high in goals
Zacha has done a complete 180 from last season as the forward logged his 18th goal of the season — a new career-high.
“I was hoping it was going to go in,” Zacha told reporters of his goal. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised. I was trying to shoot it hard. …”
Many Devils fans celebrated his trade out of New Jersey after never truly finding his ceiling. Zacha came into Boston ready to up his game and general manager Don Sweeney had the confidence he’d be able to improve his offense.
And he has done just that.
Reset (and Jeremy Swayman) helped
After two ugly losses to the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks marked the fist time the Bruins lost two straight in regulation, they knew something needed to change. Patrice Bergeron said the team looked disconnected, and it appears all they needed was a reset to get back on track. Jeremy Swayman was a big part of that with a 35-save shutout en route to the Bruins’ 51st win of the year.
“He was terrific,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the game. “That might have been his best game of the year, and he’s had a lot of good ones.”
The third period in particular reminded Montgomery of how the Bruins played earlier in the season when the final 20 minutes were just dominated by Boston.
“I really thought the way we closed out the game in the third period was very reminiscent of the old team we had,” Montgomery told NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. “Our game management, all four lines and every defenseman. Of course, Swayman was great for 60 minutes.”
Defense could be shorthanded
The Bruins have been rotating defensemen in and out of the lineup — a good problem to have — but now may be shorthanded. Derek Forbort blocked a shot in the second period and labored through the rest of his shift. He did not return for the remainder of the game, and he’s expected to miss the rest of Boston’s road trip, which ends Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.
“We’re going to get him evaluated (Friday) morning again just to see what exactly it is,” Montgomery told reporters. “But we know he’s not going to be a player for probably the rest of this trip.”
Forbort has been a force on the penalty kill and a crucial part of shutting down opponents. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub pointed out that, going into Thursday’s game against the Jets, the B’s penalty kill was 88% when Forbort was in the lineup. When he wasn’t, it sat at 76.5%.
The Bruins have a lot of depth since the acquisition of Dmitry Orlov ahead of this year’s NHL trade deadline, but it still wouldn’t be ideal to lose Forbort for an extended period of time with the playoffs so close.
Bruins started on time
Boston desperately needed an on-time start after its last two games, and that’s exactly what it got Thursday. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead into the second period thanks to goals from Trent Frederic and Zacha before Tomas Nosek added the empty-netter in the third.
“I thought we played with a lot of pace and purpose,” Montgomery told NESN’s Brickley and Edwards. “You could tell we were skating right away.”
All four lines were strong on the night and shined in their own ways, it was just Frederic’s line to set the tone of the game.
Jakub Lauko fighting for spot in lineup
Lauko finally slotted into the lineup after a slew of emergency recalls from Providence to Boston, and he made the most of it. While the forward only logged 6:29 of ice time, he drew two penalties and put two shots on goal. Lauko also won puck battles and made his presence known each time he was on the ice.
“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,” Montgomery told reporters of Lauko’s fourth line.
It’s unclear if Lauko will remain in the lineup for Saturday’s matinee against the Minnesota Wild, but he certainly earned his keep.
