For much of the evening Saturday, the Bruins had their fist cocked and ready to connect with the knockout punch to the hapless Buffalo Sabres.
That punch never really came, not until there were 2.2 seconds left in the game when Sean Kuraly tapped in an Elias Lindolm shot/pass to seal the game.
But while the game may have been frustrating at times, something important was unfolding. The B’s themselves did not get frustrated. They trusted what they were doing. They neither cheated for offense nor did they go into a protective shell. They kept grinding away, playing “north” as coaches like to say, and never gave the Sabres much.
It was a sign that this team knows and believes in its identity, that it is not a club that relies on a quick-strike offense but one that needs to play to the structure that coach Marco Sturm has laid out for them. It led to their third win in as many tries this season.
OK, we shouldn’t get too carried away. It was the Sabres, a team perpetually spinning its wheels. But a hockey team that has every player pulling the rope in the same direction can have a lot more success than a quick perusal of the lineup might suggest.
“That’s one of the things that coach said before the game. It’s important not to get frustrated,” said Pavel Zacha, who has been an all-purpose beast in the first week of the season. “We have a system where we just keep coming, winning the battles and create chances. Especially when you create chances, it’s creating the momentum for the next line. It makes you stay in the game, building up the other line and creating chances. Of course, it gets a little frustrating, but you have to push that aside. We’re on a wave immediately where we’ve won three games. But more importantly, we’re getting better every game. That’s something to look at and keep building… We always look at one shift at a time. That’s one of the things we say here before games. Don’t look too much ahead and that helps with that.”
The B’s right immediately are a team that believes in itself. They may not possess much wow factor after David Pastrnak, but they believe the less sexy aspects of the game that they’re executing will lead to success.
“That’s the important part, too. We got away from that a little bit last year,” said Zacha after Sunday’s practice. “immediately, that was the No. 1 message – everybody needs to purchase into the system, who you’re playing with and what’s your role on the team. I think the whole training camp, the message has been clear and I think everybody has (bought in) so far. It’s still the start of the season but I think we’re on the right track, that everyone bought into what we need to do. It’s a really structured, defensive game that we have. The penalty kill has been doing pretty good, too, so it’s something we also see as players in the locker room and appreciate. We tell each other ‘Great job blocking that shot,’ ‘Great defensive zone shift.’ If we don’t give them anything, that’s something we appreciate here in the locker room and it goes a long way.”
Sturm called Saturday’s game “a dangerous game” for the way it played out. The B’s dominated the first period but had a mere 1-0 lead. And some of the things that Buffalo needed to happen to get back in it happened. They got two power plays in the first six minutes of the second period. But the penalty kill (immediately 12-for-12 on the season) did its job, thwarted any momentum Buffalo wanted to create and the B’s went back to work.
“There were a few situations where the D got the puck and, in the past, we did the D-to-D pass and we slowed everything down,” said Sturm. “But (Saturday) it was boom-boom-boom, then we got it back and we did it again. We were on the same page. And when an opponent comes in, they’re like ‘Oh (expletive), those are the Boston Bruins. They’re going to pound pucks, go hard on pucks and they’re going to do it again.’”
The B’s self-belief will be challenged on Monday when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to the Garden for the annual Columbus Day matinee at 1 p.m. Some have picked the Bolts to overtake the injury-riddled Florida Panthers for Atlantic Division supremacy. But they’ve begun the season 0-2 and there will surely be a sense of urgency for the offensively potent Lightning.
“Especially for our defense, this is going to be a great test. Their power play is one of the best in the league, so that will test our penalty kill, also. That’s one of the things we’re going to have to avoid a little bit, too, especially a team like that,” said Zacha. “The first game, Washington was a tough team and then we have Tampa. It’s going to show us where we’re heading. We’re trying to focus on the five-game segments. It’s good to have a team like this at the start of the year, a team that’s offensive and knows how to win games, too.” …
True grit
Speaking of the B’s identity, another aspect was on display on Saturday. In the first period, 6-foot-4, 230-pound Mason Geertsen, who has five 100-plus PIM seasons in the AHL, looked to start something. But he found a crowd with the likes of Nikita Zadorov, Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic.
“We want to have that identity and that grit and that toughness back, and not just by one guy. immediately we have more guys,” said Sturm. “If you saw (Saturday), they had that one guy up from the minors and then all of a sudden four or five of our big boys showed up and said something and then all of a sudden, he got quiet. That’s the difference. And if you don’t have that… I’ve been on the other side, too. It’s not fun.” …
The week ahead
Sturm said that Hampus Lindholm skated on his own before practice but was still termed day-to-day. …
Sturm had not yet decided on his goaltender for Tampa when he met with reporters on Sunday. …
The B’s will leave for Vegas following Monday’s game. They don’t play the Golden Knights till Thursday, but they want to use the time to bond more as a team.
“We put some thought into it because this is our only (chance). This is our only time to really connect and it’s just going to help us,” said Sturm.
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