If you had Keith Kinkaid and Jakub Zboril as two of your picks for the Bruins’ stars of the game going into Saturday night, you might want to make sure you play the next Powerball.
Kinkaid stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced in his first start as a Bruin and Zboril scored what proved to be the game-winner with his first NHL goal as Boston beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, to improve to 13-2-0 on the season. The third star, by the way, wasn’t a surprise at all: Patrice Bergeron scored the other two goals.
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Perhaps Kinkaid and Zboril’s heroics shouldn’t have been that surprising, though. A key for the Bruins so far this season has been their depth and their ability to get contributions from all over the lineup. With so many injuries overcome already, “next man up” has been more than just a cliché.
Kinkaid was the next man up in net when Jeremy Swayman went down with a leg injury on Nov. 1. The Bruins didn’t need to use him right away, opting to ride the red-hot Linus Ullmark for six straight starts. That was bound to change this weekend, though, with games on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Bruins decided to call Kinkaid’s number on Saturday, and the veteran was more than up to the task. His only blemish was a shorthanded goal against early in the first period, but that was more the fault of a sloppy power play in front of him.
Aside from that, Kinkaid was great, especially in the first and second periods when a sleepy Bruins squad needed him to be. At one point in the second period, the Sabres had a 21-10 shots advantage. Thanks to Kinkaid, though, it remained a one-goal game.
The Bruins tied the game late in the second and played much better in the third as they eventually pulled away, but still needed one more clutch sequence from Kinkaid early in the third with the game tied 1-1. After robbing Jack Quinn on a point-blank chance, Kinkaid made a couple more stops in short order to keep the game tied.
“A lot of great saves by Kinky,” Bergeron said of Kinkaid during his postgame interview with NESN (yes, Kinkaid’s nickname is really Kinky). “…Really solid back there. Gave us more than a chance to win in this one. We owe him a lot tonight.”
This is why the Bruins signed Kinkaid. The 33-year-old has 168 games of NHL experience across 10 season, and he’s had some really solid stretches during that time (his best season was 2017-18 in New Jersey when he went 26-10-3 with a .913 save percentage). While every team hopes to have their two best goalies stay healthy all season, an experienced netminder like Kinkaid is good to have in the AHL for situations exactly like this.
When the Bruins did eventually take the lead with 7:29 to go, it was Zboril doing the honors. Trent Frederic, Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek combined for a strong forechecking shift that eventually led to Nosek moving the puck over to Zboril. The 25-year-old defenseman walked in from the point and fired a great shot past Craig Anderson’s glove.
That first NHL goal was a long time coming for Zboril, who was a first-round pick in 2015 and is now 65 games into his NHL career. He appeared to be ready for a breakout season after recovering from a torn ACL and getting off to a fast start this preseason, but instead it’s been a bit of an inconsistent start, including a few healthy scratches. Needless to say, this goal felt good, even if Zboril wasn’t thrilled with the rest of his game.
“I don’t think I deserved it today, but I’ve waited long enough for it, and it feels really good to finally be rewarded,” Zboril said.
Kinkaid and Zboril aren’t exactly players that the Bruins’ season hinges on. Kinkaid will be heading back to Providence when Swayman returns. Zboril could see more healthy scratches when Derek Forbort returns. But at least for one night, the Bruins’ fortunes were very much decided by these two unlikely heroes.
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