Bruins Notes: First-Period Effort Set Tone In Boston’s Win Vs. Devils

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins made a strong start their priority entering their contest against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden on Monday afternoon.

The Black and Gold, coming off a four-game road trip with contests spanning across three different time zones, didn’t want to come out sluggish despite the fact the matinee puck drop didn’t make it any easier.

“That was a big thing of ours, having a good start and maintaining our start,” Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman said after Boston’s 3-0 victory over the Devils. “I think it was one of our better performances through and through, from the drop of the puck to the end of the third period, and that’s something we have to use as momentum going forward.”

Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery was equally impressed.

“Really happy, really proud of our group to be honest,” Montgomery said. “I mean, that’s not an easy game for us after being in three different time zones, today’s the ninth day of playing five games. We get seven out of 10 (points) because of the start we had.”

Boston unleashed 30 total shots in that first period. They dominated on the forecheck and opened with an 11-2 edge in shots on goal. And while the first period ended scoreless, their momentum stretched into the second when Charlie Coyle scored 30 ticks into the middle frame.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Coyle said. “That can take a lot out of you, road trip, couple of different time zones. But sometimes you gotta grind through it, and it looked like we had some pretty good legs. I know personally, I felt pretty good. And as a team we looked solid. And they can be a stingy team to play against. So I thought our all-around game was pretty solid. That’s what you want to see.”

Boston finished with a 36-31 advantage in shots on goal.

Here are more notes from Bruins-Devils:

— The Black and Gold scored a pair of third-period goals with David Pastrnak lighting the lamp on a power-play opportunity at 3:22. Frederic added his empty-netter for good measure. Montgomery said it was positive to see Boston stick to its game late, and ultimately pull away, rather than allowing the Devils to get back into it.

“It’s nice to see the maturation in our group,” Montgomery said. “Now we’re starting to see the progress in those situations, players being used to being in those moments.”

— Montgomery shouted out Zacha, who returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game due to illness. Zacha played 15:49 despite being “not close to 100 percent,” according to Montgomery.

“Him giving us minutes that were extremely important, matching off against their second line and filling for us, I thought he had a real strong game,” Montgomery said.

— Montgomery was happy to see the “hockey gods” reward Frederic for his all-around effort. Frederic, who played 14:31 and did whatever was asked of him, dove for the loose puck and got his stick on it for Boston’s third goal of the game.

“We used the fourth line more than we have recently because of Freddy’s presence back here,” Montgomery said. “I told Freddy, ‘Listen, I’m going to move you around. You’re going to play left wing, play right wing.’ He killed tonight, he power-played and obviously he took a lot of left-handed draws for us.”

Frederic won four of the five faceoffs he took.

“And then for him to get rewarded for being a great team player with that empty net, I felt that was the hockey gods rewarding him. Pool cue shot.”

— Prior to the game, Montgomery offered optimistic updates on sidelined Bruins including Linus Ullmark, Matt Poitras, Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort. Montgomery said all four skated Monday and are “trending well.” He didn’t provide a timeline on any of them, however.

— The second-year Bruins coach also reacted after he was named to the NHL All-Star Game. Montgomery will serve at the helm of the Atlantic Division team.

“Again, very thankful of the talented roster and team that we have, and the culture of the Bruins,” Montgomery said. “It allows us to have success. I’m representing the Boston Bruins.”

— The Bruins return to TD Garden on Thursday to host the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN with pregame starting at 6 p.m.