You might not know it given their league-best 15-2-0 record, but the Bruins actually haven't been great in every single period of every single game.
There have been more than a couple slow starts and second-period let-ups, as there are with every team. They were there Thursday night, when the Bruins looked sloppy throughout the first period and much of the second as well.
There is one period where the Bruins have pretty consistently been great, though: the third. After outscoring the Flyers 3-1 in the third period Thursday night to close out a 4-1 win, the Bruins have now outscored opponents 27-9 in the third period this season. That plus-18 differential is four goals better than any other team in the NHL.
Technically, every period counts the same. Third-period goals are not actually worth any more than first- or second-period goals. But being able to finish teams off in the final 20 minutes of a game is one of the marks of a great team, and the Bruins have done it better than anyone.
After Thursday, the Bruins are now 10-0-0 when leading after two periods. In seven of those 10 games, they haven't just held onto the lead in the third period; they've extended it. They've also won all four games they've been tied after two periods, three of them in regulation. They've only trailed after two periods three times, and they even won one of those (a comeback win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1).
Thursday was an extend-the-lead night. The Bruins doubled their 1-0 lead 7:32 into the third when David Pastrnak set up Jake DeBrusk for a power-play goal. Then they actually allowed the Flyers to cut the lead to one again, but it didn't take long to restore the two-goal lead.
David Krejci scored just 16 seconds after Philadelphia's goal, set up by Pavel Zacha making a great hustle play, out-muscling Ivan Provorov, and poking the puck over to Krejci. Krejci scored again on a late power play to put the game away for good, this one set up by a great cross-crease pass from Nick Foligno.
"I think we're building our game from shift one," Krejci said after the game. "It's not always gonna be pretty, but if you stick with, keep playing the right way, we believe we have a good team. And if we roll all four lines, then that's dangerous for the other team. If we bring lots of energy and each line's doing the things they're supposed to do, then it's hard to stop us."
Playing the right way is a big part of third-period success, and so is training the right way. Every NHL player and team is in good shape, but the Bruins legitimately believe they're better-conditioned than their opponents, and it's hard to argue given what they've shown so far.
"We're in great shape," said goalie Linus Ullmark, who has played more minutes than any goalie in the league and is now 12-1-0. "If your best period is the third, that means you're in great shape. Might be even better shape than the other team. I don't think it comes just down to that, but we take a lot of pride in our third periods as well. We know whenever it comes around, we can go out there and we can close out games or we can come back, like we've shown."
For the Bruins, being in great shape isn't just about practicing hard or spending a ton of time in the gym. They do that, but rest has been just as important. The Bruins have had a lot more off days under Jim Montgomery than they did under Bruce Cassidy, who usually stuck to the NHLPA-mandated one per week. They recently even had a full two-day weekend completely off, a rarity for any team in-season.
"Our sports science department, I rely on heavily," Montgomery said recently. "Looking at how the players are doing, the output that they're doing, especially in practice, in relation to trying to get them to be their best for game time.
"I think our third periods show that we're in real good condition. Players are feeling really good with the way we're able to play in the third period. I rely a lot on them. And then also communication with players and how they're feeling."
Whether it holds up all season long remains to be seen, but for now, the combination of conditioning, good habits on the ice and the sheer amount of talent on their roster has allowed the Bruins to establish themselves as the best closers in the NHL.
