The Boston Bruins delighted fans with their third-period onslaught in the season opener against the New York Rangers. Boston's offense arrived in the final five minutes, outscoring the Rangers 3-0 to win a game that had been scoreless until then. It was an early glimpse of the resolve this team showed through its first 12 games, and a great sign of what's to come.
A recurring coaching trope in hockey locker rooms is, "If you win this period, you win the game." Head Coach Marco Sturm has undoubtedly said some version of this line at the second intermission for most of the Bruins' games this season, and for the most part the team has listened, outscoring their opponents in the final frame in nine of 12 games.
The Rangers' result was a great start, but they also outscored the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings 3-0 in the third in back-to-back games on their West Coast road trip. They also got a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers this season and their most recent wins against the Nashville Predators (2-0) and San Jose Sharks (4-2).
I will play devil's advocate and say I would love to see the Bruins bring this mindset earlier in games, because there have been plenty of times this season when the team started slow in the first two periods before turning it on in the third. Much like their special teams play, it's fine when it works, but if things start to regress, you can usually find where it went wrong. Playing only one good period some nights is a recipe for things going south.
Bruins' third-period statistics are incredible
It's hard to find one bad thing about the Bruins' final-period play this season. They've scored 22 goals in that span, averaging 1.83 goals per third period. They've allowed just eight goals (0.67 per game), making a +14 goal differential a strong indicator of why they are currently first in the Atlantic Division.
The result against the Sharks turned into a bit of a shootout, which Sturm doesn't want to see, but those three goals in a 3:33 span show this Bruins offense is more explosive than people gave it credit for heading into the season.
Players credit the team's youth movement with a looser locker room and a more fun dynamic overall. Could the kids be easing the tension, making it easier to get up for crunch time? Either way, something is working, and the Bruins hope it continues for the next 72 games.
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