Who said that the Bruins (3-1-1) had any offensive struggles whatsoever? Those seem like a distant memory as Boston dispatched Philadelphia (3-2-1) for the second straight game, this time much more decisively to the tune of a 6-1 laugher tonight at TD Garden. After scoring three combined goals in their first three contests, the B's scored four in Thursday's 5-4 shootout victory vs. Philly then topped that with a six-pack of goals this evening led by the incomparable center Patrice Bergeron (2 power play goals, assist) and left wing Brad Marchand (2 goals-1 PPG, assist). Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (1-0-1) got the start for the Bruins but he didn't have to do much of anything beyond staying awake since the Flyers only landed 17 total shots on him.
B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was out with a lower-body injury but the usually reliable Connor Clifton (plus-1, 4 hits, blocked shot in 18:12) filled in well for him in his season debut. As usual, Bergy and Marchy earned the majority of the headlines with plenty of highlights of their own but there were some notable achievements by other Bruins as well: rookie forward Trent Frederic (plus-2, 3 shots on goal, 2 hits and takeaway in 14:31) and rookie defenseman Jakub Zboril (2 shots on goal, hit and blocked shot in 19:41) each earned their first NHL points/assists while winger Craig Smith (assist, plus-2, 2 shots on goal in 15:00) scored his first goal for the Spoked B. BU's Charlie Coyle found the back of the net for the second straight game, helping Boston win two games in a row for the first time in 2021.
Rather than being down by two goals heading into the third period (like they did on Thursday), the B's took a new and much easier approach as they scored first and then closed things out with five unanswered goals. Bergeron got the fun started with a power play goal (his 2nd goal of the season) at 8:09 of the first period. Winger Nick Ritchie (2 assists) and center David Krejci had the helpers as Boston created plenty of traffic in front of Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (20 saves, 2-2-1) which allowed Bergy to brush a tough-angle backhander by him. Up 1-0 after the first period, the only real adversity that the Bruins faced all night-if you can even call it that-was when BC's Kevin Hayes tipped in a shot by right wing Jakub Voracek 1:14 into the second period for his third goal of the season. Just 1:16 after that, Smith nabbed his first tally in the Black and Gold thanks to a sweet spin-around pass from Coyle that left him with a wide open net to shoot at. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon had the second assist on Smith's goal, his first point of the season. Coyle was repaid for his great feed with an equally beautiful look from Frederic. The pride of Weymouth tipped it in for a 3-1 advantage at 17:50 of the second period with Smith notching the other helper.
After a few days in Boston where they probably couldn't do much of anything besides play hockey (because of the pandemic and freezing temperatures) and sit alone in their hotel rooms, I'm sure that Philadelphia was understandably ready to get home by the time that the third period came around. Truthfully, they played like a club that was halfway on the bus to the airport for much of that extended garbage time. Marchand made sure of it as he potted his pair of goals 3:46 apart in the frame. First he was the recipient of a ferocious forecheck by Bergeron that led to an easy tap-in at 4:13 for his second goal of the season. The top line's latest right wing-Jake DeBrusk-got the second assist. The wheels completely fell off at that point for the Flyers as they continued to take penalties and the Bruins were more than happy to pay for them. Marchand ripped in a wrist shot at 7:59 for a power-play goal, assisted by Ritchie and Zboril. Bergeron fittingly wrapped it up with a very similar goal to his first one except this time-at 13:33, assisted by Marchand and Charlie McAvoy-it came on the man advantage.
As you probably guessed, Boston earned a day off from practice tomorrow so they'll be back to work on Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena for their first practice ahead of two games at home vs. Pittsburgh (3-2-0). The B's host the Penguins on Tuesday (7, NESN) and Thursday (7, NESN), their first two matchups of the season with superstar Sidney Crosby and his team who are temporarily in the same division (East) as the Bruins. After losing their first two games of the year vs. Philly, the Penguins have rattled off three straight wins. They still score plenty of goals (18) but they also allow even more (21) so expect some high-scoring tilts when these sneaky rivals meet once again in Boston.
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