Bruins Notes: Boston Re-Establishes Identity, Effort In Bounce-Back Win

BOSTON — Thursday night offered a chance for the Bruins to return to their roots after three games of poor performance and several goals scored against them.

While the first period ended in a scoreless tie against the San Jose Sharks, Boston still needed to elevate their play to get back in a rhythm.

“We weren’t happy with our first (period),” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said. “We didn’t like our compete level. The players took it upon themselves to raise that level.”

The Bruins did just that in the second period with two goals, an 18-6 shot advantage and an increased physical presence with better checking and a pair of fights. In those 20 minutes, Boston flipped the switch that had been missing for the last week.

“I liked the checking part, I thought we checked well,” Montgomery said. “We were on the right side of pucks. I thought we were a little slow in offensive transition. We got better, though. I thought the second period was a real good period.”

Boston finished a full effort in the third period, tacking on another goal while Jeremy Swayman closed out a 26-save shutout to lock down the win. On their home ice, the Bruins provided a level of resurgence.

“I thought we got better as the game went on,” Bruins captain and forward Brad Marchand told reporters after the win. “We started to play more the way we need to win games. It was a good step for us. Good to get back into the win column.”

Boston raised its effort and returned to a physical style of play to start a new direction after the troubling three-game skid.

“It was really important,” Montgomery added. “You give up 17 goals in three games. We didn’t look anything life ourselves. It was good to see us look like ourselves without the puck in all three zones.”

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More notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Sharks game:

— Boston scored two goals in a period for the third straight game a pair in the second period.

— After tallying just one point in his first six games, Heinen has now recorded six points in his last eight games, including Thursday’s goal.

— Boston and San Jose combined to commit 15 total penalties in the game.

— The Bruins killed all eight of their penalties against the Sharks. Boston entered the game with the fifth-best penalty-kill percentage (87.7) in the NHL.

“We have a lot of confidence in our kill,” Montgomery said. “Even when we’re down 3-on-5. I thought (Charlie Coyle) and (Pavel Zacha) did a great job up top. (Derek Forbort) and (Brando Carlo), they’re excellent. Their reads were terrific.”

— Boston extends its winning streak against San Jose to 13 straight wins, dating back to Feb. 9, 2017.

— The Bruins head north of the border on Saturday to start the month of December with a battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.