Boston Bruins: 3 takeaways from dominant 6-1 win over Flyers
The Boston Bruins won their second straight game last night against the Philadelphia Flyers in dominant fashion by a score of 6-1. The B’s had 11 skaters record at least one point and five skaters with multiple points, while the Flyers lone goal-scorer was Kevin Hayes, assisted by Jake Voracek.
Like last game, this game saw a lot of firsts from the Black and Gold. Defenseman Jakub Zboril recorded his first career NHL point with a secondary assist on Brad Marchand‘s second goal of the game, forward Trent Frederic also recorded his first career NHL point with a primary assist on a nice tip in by Charlie Coyle, and Craig Smith scored his first goal as a member of the Bruins.
The skaters with multiple points last night included Patrice Bergeron and Marchand with two goals and an assist each, Nick Ritchie with two assists, and Smith and Coyle with a goal and an assist each.
It truly was a team effort and a dominant one last night by the B’s. Here are three takeaways from last night.
3. The Boston Bruins finally played a full 60 minutes.
Through the first four games of the season, the B’s have had good periods and bad periods, good games and bad games. However, they had yet to play a full 60 minutes. They had yet to put together three good periods in one game.
This changed last night.
The Black and Gold came out hot, like they had before in other games. However, unlike other games, they didn’t let up on the opposition. At the end of the first period the score was just 1-0 B’s.
Things didn’t start off well for Boston in the second period, as Kevin Hayes scored what turned out to be the Flyers only goal, and Bruins fans everywhere thought we were in for another lackluster second period that has cost the B’s games before.
However, this wasn’t the case as the Black and Gold answered quickly, making the score 2-1. Boston would go on to score another goal in the period and finish the middle frame up 3-1.
Down just two goals going into the third period, you would think Philly would come in with a massive push to get within at least one. However, this didn’t happen and the B’s took advantage as they ran up the score to finish the game up 6-1.
Things could’ve been different in this game if they let off the gas in the second or third period. They could’ve let the Flyers gain momentum and get back into the game — but they didn’t. The Bruins kept pushing, looking to score more goals and not let Philly have any scoring opportunities.
Another reason why the B’s were so dominant throughout the entire game was their discipline. Boston managed to only take two penalties this game. This is big as they didn’t kill their own momentum with boneheaded plays.
2. The Boston Bruins’ powerplay was a huge factor in last night’s win.
The Bruins got their first powerplay in the first half of the first period. They took little time to score as Bergeron buried a rebound. This would be the trend of the game as Boston would go three for four on the powerplay.
These three goals would account for half of the Black and Gold’s goals. Two for these goals would come in the third period, really putting a dagger in the Flyers’ chances of coming back.
What’s really impressive about Boston scoring three powerplay goals last night was the fact that they were more shorthanded than they were in the first four games.
Not only were they missing David Pastrnak, they were also missing their first unit quarterback Matt Grzelcyk, as he missed last night with a lower-body injury that he suffered in the first game against Philly.
The fact that the Black and Gold were able to score six goals, including three on the powerplay, shows me they have enough scoring depth, talent, and general depth to make the playoffs and contend for the cup this season.
1. Moving Trent Frederic up to the third line was the correct decision by Boston Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy.
At Friday’s practice, head coach Bruce Cassidy decided to switch Frederic and Bjork. This meant Frederic was on the third line with Coyle and Smith, and Bjork was on the fourth line with Kuraly and Wagner. While these were the lines in practice it was unknown if it would continue in last night’s game.
It turned out that those were the lines in last night’s game and so far, it looks to be a genius move by Cassidy.
Frederic, Coyle, and Smith played extremely well together and were the Bruins’ best line during the game. Coyle and Smith each had a goal and an assist, and Frederic continued his strong, physical-style of play and finally got is first NHL point with a nice pass to assist Coyle’s goal.
So moving Frederic up clearing positively impacted the third line, but how did it impact the fourth line?
I would say that the addition of Bjork to the fourth line had neither a positive nor negative impact on the fourth line. The line played well (not as well as with Frederic) but they still played well and didn’t play poorly.
Last night, this trio was really a force to reckoned with and I could definitely see them continuing to be for the foreseeable future. The physical styles of Coyle and Frederic combined with the scoring abilities of Coyle and Smith could really wreak havoc on apposing teams.
Next. Providence Bruins Release Their 2021 Schedule. dark
Like I said in my takeaways from the first game against the Flyers, if the team continues to play this well, especially Frederic, Ondrej Kase shouldn’t be put back into the lineup unless the team starts to play poorly, someone seems to need a rest, or he absolutely needs to be in the lineup because of an injury or COVID-related reasons.