Funny sport, this hockey. The Bruins entered Saturday’s matinee game in Tampa having lost eight of their last nine games, and having just traded away Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo. The Lightning came in as the hottest team in the NHL, having won 10 of their last 11.
ESPN’s Sean McDonough opened the national TV broadcast by noting that these were two teams “heading in opposite directions.” He wasn’t wrong, but apparently no one told these new-look Bruins that they were supposed to just roll over.
The Bruins didn’t just upset the Lightning; they beat them 4-0. They became the first team all season to shut out Tampa Bay at home. And they weren’t just lucky. They controlled play most of the day. They had the better chances, especially at 5-on-5. They played with a renewed energy and vigor and were committed defensively. Jeremy Swayman was excellent in net, highlighted by the absurd stick save below on Brandon Hagel.
How much it really means going forward, we will see. For now, it was an impressive effort that deserves some praise.
Friday was not an easy day for these players. Marchand, Coyle and Carlo were team leaders who were loved in that room. There had to have been quite a bit of shock. There also must have been a feeling that the front office had pulled the plug on this season, because, quite frankly, that’s exactly what general manager Don Sweeney did.
If young players were looking for veteran leaders to turn to… it was pretty much just David Pastrnak. Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm were both back in Boston rehabbing injuries. The leadership void was further highlighted by the fact that Pastrnak was the only Bruin wearing an alternate captain’s ‘A’ on his jersey Saturday. Boston will not have a ‘C’ for the remainder of this season.
Pastrnak acknowledged postgame Saturday that he woke up in the morning thinking Friday must have been a bad dream.
“I’m not gonna lie, when I woke up today, I honestly thought it was a dream,” Pastrnak told reporters in Tampa. “Yesterday was so much going on that this morning, the reality really hits. I would say that was a little harder this morning, but you are still professional hockey players and you have a job to do. You have to get the mindset ready and make sure you look forward.”
Three new players – Casey Mittelstadt, Henri Jokiharju and Marat Khusnutdinov – made their Bruins debuts Saturday, while Jakub Lauko played his first game of stint No. 2 with the team after being acquired Thursday night. Lauko and Khusnutdinov got one practice in on Friday; Mittelstadt and Jokiharju didn’t even get a morning skate with their new team.
The new guys made an immediate impact. Mittelstadt forced several turnovers with good puck pressure and an active stick, including one that led to the game’s opening goal. He was initially credited with an assist and his first point as a Bruin, but it was later changed to an unassisted Cole Koepke goal because the final touch actually came from a Lightning stick. No matter – Mittelstadt would get that first assist later in the game on Koepke’s second tally of the day.
Mittelstadt played 17:37, third among Bruins forwards behind only Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. He centered Koepke and Vinni Lettieri on an all-Minnesota line, one that Lightning coach Jon Cooper tried to target by matching up his top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel against them. The Minnesotans held their own, though, giving up zero high-danger chances during the 8+ minutes of 5-on-5 action that they went head-to-head.
Jokiharju played big minutes as well – 18:37 to be exact. At 5-on-5, he slid into the departed Carlo’s usual spot next to Nikita Zadorov in the top four. That pairing was… great? They might have been the Bruins’ two best players Saturday. During the 15:43 that they played together, the Bruins out-attempted the Lightning 21-8 and outshot them 8-2. They had a 13-1 advantage in scoring chances and 4-0 edge in high-danger chances.
Jokiharju killed several Tampa possessions by winning battles in the defensive zone, and he consistently made good, simple first passes. He also got involved offensively with seven shot attempts, second-most behind only Pastrnak.
Lauko and Khusnutdinov brought pace and energy while playing on a line with Elias Lindholm, something this Bruins forward group could definitely use. Boston had a 74.2% expected goals share with that line on the ice.
Is this the start of anything meaningful? Are the Bruins, who are now just two points out of a playoff spot, about to become some lovable underdog that scratches and claws its way into the postseason? Who knows. Maybe, maybe not. This roster still has a serious lack of talent. Hard work and grit, even if it’s consistent, will only get you so far in the NHL.
But there are a lot of players here who have something to prove. Mittelstadt, who was having a down year in Colorado, was brought in to drive play and create offense. He wants to prove he can be that kind of player here.
Jokiharju, a pending unrestricted free agent, requested a trade out of Buffalo, where his development had seemingly stagnated. He wants to show the Bruins he’s worth keeping around, or other teams he’s worth signing if he goes to the open market.
Saturday’s lineup was littered with players who are not guaranteed NHL jobs next season, in Boston or elsewhere. Lauko, Khusnutdinov, Koepke and Lettieri are all among that group. So are Johnny Beecher, Patrick Brown and Ian Mitchell, who all had assists Saturday. Parker Wotherspoon is another; he was a team-best plus-3 against Tampa. Try telling those guys there’s nothing to play for the rest of the season. Heck, try telling Pastrnak that.
“We are here to fight till the end,” Pastrnak said. “We are not gonna go away. We’re gonna keep battling until the last game and see where it takes us.”