“We’ve rattled off three in a row, right? Which is really good,” said No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who assisted on both goals, including the primary helper on Mittelstadt’s 1-0 strike early in the third. “But I think it’s the way in which we’ve done it.”
There was the 5-2 comeback win over the Islanders on Tuesday, roaring back from a 2-0 deficit. Two nights later came the 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres, after letting a 3-1 lead in the third slip through their mitts. This most recent win, perhaps their most complete of the season, came against a solid, disciplined Carolina team that arrived on Causeway St. an impressive 7-3-0.
For the three wins, the Bruins outscored their opponents, 11-4, dating back to that 2-0 deficit against the Islanders. Keep in mind, this was a club that earlier lost six straight — one of their worst October stretches in team history — and were outscored, 28-19, amid that stupor.
“I think we have shown our grit, feel that we can always win a game, get a result out of it,” said McAvoy, reflecting specifically on Saturday’s win, which had Mittelstadt and Arvidsson connecting for the 2-0 lead after a scoreless 40 minutes. “All in all, go into the third period [thinking] win a period, win a game, then get two goals, preserve a lead with a shutdown defense. It’s allowed us to get back to .500, which is what we wanted to do with this homestand.”
Mittelstadt’s opening goal 1:27 into the third had McAvoy charging in from his blue line spot with a feed from Pavel Zacha and dishing to the left post for Mittelstadt’s forehand pot. Only 3:38 later, Mittelstadt’s alert feed up from behind his own blue line sent Arvidsson racing up ice, with Alexander Nikishin in his vapor trail, and snapping a pinpoint wrister by goalie Frederik Andersen.
The Hurricanes mustered just seven shots on net over the remaining 14:55, the last of which was a Nikishin slapper from about 30 feet that broke Swayman’s shutout bid.
It was a solid, reaffirming effort for Swayman, who was the goalie/victim in Monday’s night’s woodchipper in Ottawa. Coach Marco Sturm went with Swayman against a stout Hurricanes team, even though backup Joonas Korpisalo stopped 70 of 75 shots in the previous two wins and had proven to be the club’s much-needed foothold.
“Doesn’t really surprise me,” Sturm said of Swayman’s 28-stop effort. “I expect him to be really good and he was outstanding.”
In the week ahead, the Bruins face the Islanders Tuesday in Elmont, N.Y., and then host the Senators Thursday before their first trip to Toronto, where on Saturday they’ll take on the Maple Leafs during the annual Hall-of-Fame-induction weekend. Zdeno Chara and ex-Bruin Joe Thornton headline this year’s class, which also includes legendary Boston University coach Jack Parker.
A large part of picking off a third win in a row, and getting back in consideration for one of the eight playoff spots in the East, was discipline, particularly being able to stay out of the penalty box vs. the Hurricanes. Upon losing three straight on the road, it was McAvoy who said, “The penalties are just killing us.”
Carolina only had one power-play opportunity, which the Bruins efficiently killed in the first period. They were forced to kill five penalties in each of the previous two wins, and gave up only one goal. Multiple shorthanded situations often kill a team’s rhythm.
“Better discipline for us,” noted McAvoy. “Sometimes you get on those bad runs. No one wants to be in the box, certainly myself; I think I have the most penalties on the team . . . it can be bad luck . . . we’ve done a better job with that, trying to check with your feet.”
“You need good structure,” Sturm said as the afternoon came to a close. “Today it was probably one of the best games we played structure-wise for 60 minutes.”
Bountiful.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.
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