It might not have been a true must-win game, but Monday night at least felt like a must-respond game for the Bruins. They did exactly that, beating the Maple Leafs 4-1 in Toronto in their most complete effort in weeks.
The Bruins certainly couldn't afford another no-show like Saturday's loss to the Islanders. And they couldn't afford to have another in-game lull like the ones that have let so many of their opponents come back against them since the All-Star break.
They started this one on the right foot, scoring twice in the first 13 minutes and outshooting the Leafs 12-3 during that time. They handled a strong push from Toronto in the second, holding their ground and actually extending the lead to 3-0.
And then, in one of several encouraging developments for the night…
1. They closed it out in the third.
This was the biggest monkey off the Bruins' back. They entered the third period with a 3-0 lead. Things could have started going south when John Tavares snapped a shot past Jeremy Swayman 3:52 in to cut the deficit to two.
But the Bruins didn't let things snowball this time. They pushed back, they didn't sit back, and they closed out the win – not by hanging on for dear life like they did in Thursday's win over Vegas, but by playing the right way.
For the most part, they protected the front of their net, they got the puck out of their zone when they had opportunities to do so, and then they forechecked, possessed the puck in the offensive zone, and mounted several sustained attacks.
Most importantly, they extended the lead. Matt Grzelcyk made a clean breakout pass to David Pastrnak, which sent Pastrnak and linemates Pavel Zacha and Danton Heinen on a rush the other way. After Pastrnak's initial shot was saved, he collected his own rebound, wrapped around the net and centered for Zacha to finish.
That Heinen-Zacha-Pastrnak line had another good offensive-zone shift a couple minutes before that goal. The fourth line of Jakub Lauko, Jesper Boqvist and Justin Brazeau had one as well, giving coach Jim Montgomery good reason to continue rolling four lines instead of shortening the bench. After Zacha's goal, Brad Marchand won a couple battles on the forecheck to set up some offensive-zone time for himself and linemates Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk.
This is how you close out games: Value the puck, hold onto it, keep it 200 feet away from your net. One of the Bruins' biggest problems in their blown leads has been how conservative they've played and how much time they've spent in their own zone. Bend-but-don't-break defense is just too hard to pull off in the NHL. The game is too fast and mistakes become almost inevitable if you can't get out of your own end.
"Defensively, we were getting back above pucks," Montgomery said. "We were winning goal-line races to our own end. It led to a lot of transition and a lot of O-zone time."
2. Zacha and DeBrusk got off the schneid.
The Bruins had too many forwards who had gone quiet recently. If you were going to make the list, it would probably start with Pavel Zacha and Jake DeBrusk. Well, both got on track in a big way Monday.
Zacha, who was a game-time decision after getting banged up Saturday, scored twice – his first multi-goal game of the season. He had gone 11 games without a goal before Monday, and had registered just three assists during that time.
DeBrusk, whose name has once again popped up in trade rumors ahead of Friday's deadline, notched a goal and an assist. Entering Monday, he had zero points in his last five games and two in his last 15.
Zacha's first goal came on the power play and made it 2-0 Boston. He and Morgan Geekie combined to win a battle along the wall. DeBrusk, who would pick up the secondary assist, was in perfect support position and collected the puck before then moving it to Pastrnak down low. Zacha got open in the slot, took a pass from Pastrnak, and snapped a shot off the post and in.
DeBrusk scored the next goal, taking a pass from Coyle on the rush and rifling a shot past Joseph Woll's glove. And then Zacha scored again to cap off the night, setting up shop at the right post and flipping in Pastrnak's wraparound pass.
Pastrnak, by the way, had three assists and now has 52 on the season, which ties his career high set last year. He also now has 90 points, becoming the eighth Bruin ever to have 90 or more points in back-to-back seasons.
3. Special teams stepped up
The Bruins' special teams simply had not been good enough since the All-Star break. Entering Monday, their power play ranked 30th in the NHL over the last 13 games at an abysmal 12.8%. Their penalty kill was only a little better, ranking 24th at 74.3%.
The Maple Leafs' power play, on the other hand, had been about as unstoppable as power plays get, converting on a ludicrous 45.2% of their chances since the break, easily tops in the league. Their penalty kill had been solid as well, ranking 12th at 80.7%.
So, special teams = big advantage for Toronto, right? Not on Monday. The Bruins went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Leafs went 0-for-4.
It was a big kill from the Bruins early in the first period that helped swing momentum in their favor, as they actually generated a couple scoring chances while shorthanded, with DeBrusk and Trent Frederic turning in especially strong shifts.
Then when the Bruins got their first power play, they extended their lead to 2-0 on Zacha's first goal of the night. Their second power play didn't result in a goal, but it was equally as dangerous, with excellent puck movement, a shot mentality, and sustained pressure. They peppered Woll with five shots on goal during it.
The Leafs had chances on their power plays. There's too much talent for that unit to be completely silenced. But Swayman made 10 saves on the penalty kill and got some extra help from Brandon Carlo, who cleared a rolling puck off the goal line on one of them.
If the season ended today, the Bruins and Leafs would be meeting in the first round of the playoffs. As they are in every playoff series, special teams would be crucial. It's important for the Bruins to know they can win that battle, or at least break even. And, as a matter of fact, they have yet to allow a power-play goal in three meetings with Toronto this season, all Boston wins.
These two will wrap up their regular-season series Thursday night at TD Garden. Before that, the Bruins host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
