One night after recording their 62nd win of the season to tie the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night (April 8), 2-1, the Boston Bruins were looking to set the NHL record for wins in a season at 63 when they played the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. If they were going to break the record, they were going to do it without several of their key players.
Unavailable to the Bruins was Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Charlie McAvoy, Dmitry Orlov, and Linus Ullmark. Earlier in the day, the Black and Gold announced that they were bringing up five players from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) to be available for coach Jim Montgomery. It didn’t matter or stop them from making history.
David Pastrnak scored three goals to give him 60 on the season as the Bruins beat the Flyers, 5-3, to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 63 and they still have two more games remaining before the playoffs start. Here are three takeaways from the NHL-record win for Boston, who improves to 63-12-5 in 2022-23.
Bruins’ Second-Line Thrived Again Without Krejci
Krejci missed his third straight game and once again, Pavel Zacha centered the second line with Pastrnak and Tyler Bertuzzi. After Zacha scored both goals against the Devils, it was Pastrnak’s turn to fill the net and it was a major milestone when all was said and done.
Pastrnak recorded his 15th career hat trick and scored goals No. 58, 59, and 60 to join Phil Esposito as the franchise’s only 60-goal scorers. He broke a 1-1 tie in the second period by scoring on a wrist shot from the top of the slot, then one-timed a pass from Bertuzzi for a 3-1 lead. In the third period, the 2019-20 co-winner of the Maurice Rocket Richard Award with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, finished off a 2-on-1 with Bertuzzi for his 60th goal of the season. Zacha sealed the win with his 21st goal of the season with just over three minutes remaining off a pass from Pastrnak.
Coyle Played Well Between Marchand & DeBrusk
With no Bergeron, Charlie Coyle got the call from Montgomery to move up from the third line to the first line between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. He made the seamless transition up to the top line and even got the scoring started in the first period.
He received a pass from Connor Carrick and scored on a perfect shot from the top of the slot for an early 1-0 lead. Coyle finished the game 8-for-17 at the faceoff dot, played 2:08 on the penalty kill that went a perfect 4-for-4, and with Marchand and DeBrusk, they finished the game with an 8-6 advantage in shots 5-on-5 and finished with a 79.75 xGF%. The second line will get all the headlines and rightfully so, but it was another under-the-radar effort from Coyle on a night when the Bruins needed one.
Bruins Insert Three P-Bruins Into the Lineup & Two Played Well
Three of the five P-Bruins brought up played well. Vinni Lettieri played on the right wing on the fourth line with Jakub Lauko and Trent Frederic. Lettieri was up earlier this season before the NHL All-Star break, but suffered an injury in a practice at Warrior Ice Arena and the spot against the Toronto Maple Leafs went to Lauko on Feb. 1. He finished the game against Philadelphia with one shot and three hits.
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Carrick played on the second defensive pairing with Matt Grzelcyk and wasted little time making an impact by setting up Coyle’s goal. He finished with just one shot on the net, but he had four hits and looked comfortable and the best of the ALers that were brought up. The final AHL Bruin to dress was goaltender Bradon Bussi, who served as Swayman’s backup. Oskar Steen and Jack Ahcan were scratched.
Quick Bruins’ Takeaways
- It was another game where Connor Clifton was all over the ice and making an impact. He finished with 20:39 in time on ice, with 3:09 of that on the penalty kill. He had two shots, blocked three shots, and assisted on Pastrnak’s first goal of the game. It’s going to be hard for Montgomery to keep him out of the lineup in the playoffs.
- Swayman gave up three goals, but he had some big saves, including 14 in the second period alone. His best save was a glove save off of Scott Laughton who collected a loose puck at the offensive zone blueline and broke in alone. For the game, Swayman had 34 saves and even tried to score into an open net late in the game to tie Ullmark for goals this season.
- Jakub Zboril has been playing well recently, but a second-period turnover at the defensive blueline led to Joel Farabee breaking in alone and scoring. He did pick up an assist on Pastrnak’s first goal. If an injury occurs in the playoffs, Zboril could find himself in the lineup, and getting more time in the final two games would be big for his confidence.
Now that the win record is done with, the Bruins will turn their attention to setting the new record for points in a regular season, needing just two over their final two games against the Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. It is Montreal that holds the record for points with 132, set in the 1976-77 season. It will be interesting to see how Montgomery goes about his lineup over the final two games following their historic night in Philadelphia.
