Coming off a four-game road trip that saw the Boston Bruins go 3-0-1, second-year head coach Marco Sturm had a message for his club before opening a quick two-game homestand on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators: Don't let the first game back home turn into an ugly loss as they did against the Ottawa Senators earlier this month.
They didn't. Boston tallied two goals in each period in a 6-0 victory to improve to 8-2-1 early in the season. They rode the hot hand of goalie Michael DiPietro, who turned back all 28 Predators shots to record his first career NHL shutout.
“What I liked about most, other than Mikey’s shutout, is that we came out with energy,” Sturm said. “We talked about it in the morning; we addressed it – after a big road trip, it’s not always easy. But I thought it was one of the best pregame skates we had all year. And that’s exactly the way we skated.”
It would have been easy for this to turn into an ugly loss, but Boston's top players showed up like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy to supply the offense needed. Now, they look to carry that momentum into Saturday night's game against the San Jose Sharks at the TD Garden before heading back out on the road.
James Hagens tied for Bruins lead in blocked shots
When James Hagens broke training camp, it wasn't surprising. In fact, he has fit seamlessly into the line for coach Marco Sturm. He has scored some big goals, including getting to the front of the net against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night to score a second-period goal. As good as he has been offensively, he's been just as good as defensively, quietly.
In Thursday night's win over Nashville, Hagens recorded three blocks in the game, tying him for the team with defenseman Will Borgen, who was acquired from the New York Rangers over the summer, with 16 in 11 games. As good as Hagens has been offensively, not many had him tied for the team lead in blocks just 11 games into the season.
Former Bruins goalie placed on injured reserve
Speaking of the Senators, they placed former Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark on injured reserve after suffering an injury against the Florida Panthers in Wednesday night's win at home. Injuries are nothing new for Ullmark, who dealt with them during his time with the Buffalo Sabres and Bruins, where he won a Vezina Trophy. Ottawa hits the road following a loss at home to San Jose on Thursday night for a lengthy road trip out West.
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