The Boston Bruins netted ten goals during the back-to-back set of games at the weekend. While there is apparently no stopping of the perfection line, the Bruins defense has been stellar, as well. Especially Brandon Carlo, who has seen a rare offensive output for him.
What a weekend it was for the Boston Bruins. Taking a tiny act of revenge on the St. Louis Blues to win 3-0 at TD Garden, then 24 hours later trashing the New York Rangers at the Madison Square Garden.
The offense has been firing on all cylinders, truly. David Pastrnak had a goal on Saturday, and a five-assist night in New York. Brad Marchand had six points, while Patrice Bergeron had a hat trick against the Rangers. The main focus was clearly set on the Bruins´ top line perfection.
The defensive display was steady, as well. Brandon Carlo has inked a two-year contract extension in September with the salary cap hit of $2.85. Once again, Carlo has been one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable, defensive rearguard for his team.
When Carlo has time to rock up some points up on the board, you could sense it´s going marvelously for him. The 22-year-old right-shot blueliner scored his first goal of the season on Saturday, into the empty net.
Last year, the Colorado native had only two regular-season goals, both away from home. Then, out of nowhere, Carlo appeared to put two pucks past Jordan Binnington during the Stanley Cup Final. In his rookie season, one of his six goals was scored in St. Louis, as well. That was his fourth career goal against the Blues already.
On Sunday on Broadway, Carlo picked up two assists. A three-point two-game sequence for Carlo; not even offensive-minded blueliners like Torey Krug or Matt Grzelcyk could state that!
More than just a surprising offensive production, Carlo has been steady defensively. Versus St. Louis, Carlo played 14:16 of the ice-time at even strength, posting 68.75 of CF% and 64.29 of xGF%. Only Krug topped him in the Corsi category.
At the Madison Square Garden, nobody from the Bruins team topped his 16:48 of the ice-time at even strength. In the overall time on the ice, only Charlie McAvoy bested him. Carlo had 71.43 of CF% and 65.16 of xGF%. In xGF%, it was tough for anybody to top the likes of Marchand or Bergeron in New York.
The Bruins went seven-for-eight on their penalty kill, only Chris Kreider’s late goal in the third period on the Rangers power play shattered that perfectly looking PK. As we already know, the penalty kill is an influential force in the performance of Brandon Carlo. The title of an unsung hero of the weekend goes to him.