One Big Takeaway From Bruins’ Encouraging Win Over Rangers
BOSTON — The Bruins know how to win, it’s just really difficult trying to get them to find any level of consistency.
Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha were the beneficiaries of the club’s shot-first mentality (a proven winning formula) on Saturday, which ultimately led to a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers at TD Garden.
McAvoy essentially opened the floodgates with his first-period power-play goal, unleashing a shot from the slot that beat Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin clean to open the scoring. Boston routinely has found success when triggering the offense through the blueliners, and the scoring opener was just another example of how putting pucks on the net leads to good things.
Coyle later expanded the lead with his tip-in goal, which, you guessed it, came off a shot from the point by defenseman Andrew Peeke.
Brandon Carlo also got a shot on goal, while Nikita Zadorov registered two of his own. Mason Lohrei was extremely aggressive around the boards and found himself net-front on a couple of different occasions with the chance to bury one.
Boston controlled the pace of the game, ultimately running away with it as a result of crisp and concise play.
The Bruins have been able to show up in a big way like this throughout the season, just not consistently. Zacha’s goal at the end of the second period pretty much encapsulated what the team should be looking to accomplish. Boston was on the power play as a result of extended time in the O-zone, which the special teams unit followed up with an attack mentality that saw their desire to put shots on net lead to a trickling puck in the middle of the ice — which was buried for a goal.
David Pastrnak also scored a hat trick, so maybe they should just have him do that every other night.
It’s been a rough few weeks for the Black and Gold, but there continues to be examples of how good the club can be.
The B’s need to keep their foot on the gas. It’s just not that simple, though, is it?