Bruins Notes: Boston Noticing ‘Passion’ Revival Under Joe Sacco

The Boston Bruins opened up a new chapter under interim head coach Joe Sacco and while the results are showing, the locker room is feeling a change of direction too.

Boston defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in overtime, on Tuesday night for the second time since Sacco took over for Jim Montgomery. Much like their recent trip to Detroit in November, the Bruins were put to the test in terms of their patience, defensive poise and ability to score in a timely fashion.

The Black and Gold passed, needless to say, and credit Sacco’s step up to the helm at the team’s recent click, putting them now at 13-11-3 on the year.

“I think we’re playing with a passion,” Nikita Zadorov told reporters, per team-provided audio. “I think we’re playing with pride. I think we’re playing for each other. I thought we were disconnected before. That’s what wasn’t working. I don’t think we fixed much X’s and O’s. I think it’s the same system, the same game plans. We’re just doing it this time.”

Zadorov added: “If one guy makes mistakes, other guys are gonna clean up for them. So I think that’s the main change from the start of the year.”

The Bruins were cornered once Detroit’s Lucas Raymond scored his second goal of the night in the third period to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. It might’ve uplifted Detroit’s bench, however, it wasn’t strong enough for a knockout blow to put Boston away for good. Justin Brazeau had a response of his own for the Red Wings, giving the Bruins new life heading into overtime.

Pavel Zacha, at 2:15 into overtime, took care of the night from there with the game-decider.

“Anytime that we can go out there, especially at that point in the game when you’re down a goal, and that power play unit goes out there and puts one in, it lifts the team is what it does,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio. “It helps the spirit on the bench. It lifts people up as opposed to bringing us down so that was a good sign. That was a positive sign.”

It’s only been seven games, but the Bruins are yet to lose on back-to-back occasions under Sacco, racking up a handful of their season’s most impressive wins in the process.

Here are more notes from Tuesday night’s Bruins-Red Wings game:

— Boston improved to 5-2 under Sacco’s leadership.

— Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who held the Red Wings scoreless in the second period, recorded 27 saves on the night. The 30-year-old has notched 20-plus saves in each of last six starts for Boston.

“He deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s come in and played under tough situations sometimes,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio”Tonight he got the beginning of a back-to-back but sometimes he doesn’t. He may get the end of the back-to-backs and he’s just been really solid for us. Really all you can ask from your goaltender is to give your team a chance to win and he’s done that on most nights.”

— Zadorov’s first-period goal clocked in at 90.46 miles per hour, according to Bruins Correspondent Shawn Hutcheon, marking the fastest goal from a Boston player this season.

“He was engaged in the game tonight,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio. “He was physical, and he was just defending hard tonight. When he was on the ice, the opposition knew that he was playing.”

— The Red Wings, now 10-11-4, have lost three straight games.

— The Bruins will next hit the road and head to the Windy City for a meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Puck drop from United Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and that matchup will be aired on TNT.