The Bruins will head into their mini-break on a high note after yet another comeback win as they completed a two-game sweep of the Flyers with a 2-1 victory Friday night.
Trailing by a goal in the latter half of the third period, Brad Marchand and Sean Kuraly found the back of the net 27 seconds apart to swing the game in the Bruins' favor.
The Bruins are now 4-0 against the Flyers this season.
Here are three key takeaways from yet another comeback win.
1. Penalty kill comes through
The Bruins entered Friday night with the second-best penalty kill in the NHL (88.9%). So while it's not surprising the Bruins were once again successful while being a man down, their consistency is still ever impressive.
The penalty kill was particularly outstanding in the first period when three of six Bruins defenseman were in the penalty box at the same time.
Oh, and all the while, the Flyers had a four-on-three and then a brief five-on-three power play, which the Bruins still killed off.
Tuukka Rask also acted as a one-man penalty kill unit in the second period, stopping a penalty shot attempt from Joel Farabee.
And while the Flyers were able to cash in on an early third-period power play due to an undisciplined penalty by Chris Wagner, the penalty kill once again came up huge protecting a lead late in regulation.
Yes, the Bruins power play is a notable weapon, but their penalty kill is an underrated asset.
2. Connor Clifton makes his case
Since joining the Bruins, Connor Clifton has done well to seize opportunities.
In 2019, injuries on the blue line allotted Clifton a chance to make his NHL debut and he didn't look back.
With Kevan Miller on long-term injured reserve, Clifton outperformed John Moore as the Bruins' sixth defenseman.
This year ,Miller has made a triumphant return to action and other young defensemen Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril have been earning regular minutes often at the expense of Clifton.
Friday night, however, Clifton was in the lineup due to the continued absence of Matt Grzelcyk and was noticeable all night.
Clifton played with speed, assertiveness, confidence and physicality on every shift.
Beginning with a fight in the first period against Philly's Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Clifton's play eventually had an indirect impact in the third period on Marchand's game-tying goal.
No, Clifton wasn't on the ice when the Bruins began their third straight third-period comeback — but it was Clifton who jumped into the play the shift before that forced the Flyers to take a whistle which led to the ensuing faceoff off of which the Bruins would score.
3. Two goals in 27 seconds
Stop me if you've read this before this week — the Bruins trailed late in the third period when …
Now keep reading because even similar stories have slightly different endings.
Wednesday it was the David Pastrnak show that ignited and propelled the Bruins to a comeback, overtime victory.
Friday night, it was a first liner and then a fourth liner who found the back of the net to lead yet another third-period comeback.
A few minutes past the midway point of the third period, David Pastrnak put a shot on goal from the right blue line as Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron battled in front of the goal for a rebound.
Hard work and determination enabled Marchand to find the rebound and tie the game 1-1.
Twenty-seven seconds later, it was Sean Kuraly coming down the left wing side and snapping home a quick release over Brian Elliott's glove for the 2-1 lead and eventual game-winning goal.
Two notes stand out about these goals.
First is depth scoring. It's always great to see different lines contribute offensively other than the top line. Although the Bruins' top line did score the first goal, it would have been for not had the Kuraly line not finished the job.
Second is the ironic role reversal of the goals. Marchand fought and chipped away for a garbage rebound goal, while Kuraly snapped in a shot from distance off the post, reminiscent of a 50-goal scorer.
Then again, that's what makes the Bruins offense dangerous. Different lines scoring every game and in different fashions.
