Boston Bruins: Dominant third periods keep the winning streak alive

After another dominant third period, the Boston Bruins now have an eight-game winning streak.

Everybody says you need to save your best for last. That’s exactly been the case for the Boston Bruins this season.

Stop me if this sounds familiar. The Bruins start a game slow and end up behind or tied in the third period against an inferior team. Then, out of nowhere, they explode for a couple goals to win the game.

This happened Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. After 50 minutes of relatively boring hockey, Boston and Carolina remained scoreless. As we crept deeper and deeper into the third period, a 1-0 overtime result appeared inevitable.

Suddenly, Danton Heinen forced a turnover, started an odd-man rush, and next thing you know Charlie Coyle scores the game’s first goal.

Not even two minutes later, David Krejci tipped in a shot to extend the lead to two goals. Before the Hurricanes had a chance to react to the first goal, the game was over. Boston earned its eighth straight victory thanks to two minutes of dominance.

Similarly, the Bruins relied on a strong third period to defeat the Montreal Canadiens last Sunday night. Montreal looked destined to leave Boston with at least a point, but then David Pastrnak, David Backes, and Jake DeBrusk all scored within a seven minute span. Game over.

Again, all this has to sound familiar to Bruins fans. Remember when the Bruins scored two goals in the third to tie the New York Rangers? Or when David Krejci buried a couple goals late in the third against the Minnesota Wild? Two apparent losses turned into overtime wins in a matter of minutes.

These late-game comebacks are nothing new for Boston, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t crazy. The Bruins have epic third-period runs that strike like lightening to win games.

After the victory over Carolina, Boston now outscores its opponents 39 to 20 in the third period. That +19 goal differential is plain nuts.

What’s even more nuts is that Boston’s shot differential is only +22 in the third. This means when the Bruins shoot, they shoot to score.

As fun as these games are to watch, they probably aren’t sustainable. The Bruins can’t expect to dominate an opponent for a few minutes in the third to win games. Instead, they need full 60-minute efforts to win…especially come playoff time.

However, we can’t deny that Boston’s resilience makes this season seem special. There’s something different with this team, and this something different can lead us to the ultimate goal.