It was a historic week for the Boston Bruins in multiple ways. David Pastrnak recorded a hat trick in a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on April 9 to give him 60 goals on the season and he joins Phil Esposito as the only two 60-goal scorers in franchise history. In the same game, Boston passed the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning for wins in a regular season with 63. In a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on April 11, they passed the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens with 133 points for a single season in the standings.
With all that going on, there are still plenty of things to go over from the last seven days. In this edition of Bruins Weekly, the penalty kill continues to be a strong point, Brad Marchand shows signs of ending his scoring drought, Jeremy Swayman has two impressive performances, and more.
Bruins’ Penalty Kill Continues to Be a Strong Point
If one thing has been consistent with the 2022-23 Bruins, it’s been their penalty kill which has been the best in the league nearly all season. They recently killed 38 consecutive opportunities, including all four attempts by the Flyers in the record-setting night. That streak ended against the Capitals when Tom Wilson scored a third-period power-play goal. Boston is 39-for-40 in killing penalties. Not too bad.
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The recent stretch over the last month has been impressive considering that Derek Forbort has been absent from the lineup with an injury as he is their top penalty-killing defenseman along with Brandon Carlo. The Bruins’ defensive unit has picked up the slack in Forbort’s absence, while the forwards have been just as important with Tomas Nosek, Charlie Coyle, and Jake DeBrusk taking on key shifts with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. No matter who the Bruins match up with in the playoffs, they will need to continue their shorthanded dominance.
Marchand Ends Scoring Drought
The offensive struggles of Marchand have gone under the radar a little bit with the offensive explosions of Pastrnak, but having their leading scorer from last season find his offensive game again will be big going into the playoffs. He ended his scoring drought at 17 games in the second period against Washington with a power-play goal.
Marchand’s numbers are down from last season and understandably so after he missed the beginning of the season recovering from hip surgery. His lack of production is not from a lack of effort standpoint and he continues to impact a game in multiple ways.
Jeremy Swayman Wins Both Starts Against Maple Leafs & Flyers
Coach Jim Montgomery once again alternated the starts in net last week and Jeremy Swayman got the call against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Flyers. As usual, the future goalie in Boston was up to the challenge under different circumstances.
Against Toronto, he made 31 saves, including 25 over the final two periods in a 2-1 win. Against the Flyers with somehwat a depleted lineup in front of him, he allowed three goals, including a shaky one in the first period to Wade Allison when he misplayed the puck, but he recovered to make 34 saves in the NHL-record-breaking win for most wins a regular season.
Connor Carrick Impresses Against Philadelphia
Several Bruins’ did not travel to play the Flyers on Easter Sunday and three of the five Providence Bruins from the American Hockey League (AHL) were called up and made their way into the lineup. One of those was defenseman Connor Carrick and the 28-year-old made an impression paired with Matt Grzelcyk.
In 16:54 of time-on-ice, the 5-foot-10, 198-pound physical blueliner set up Coyle for the game’s first goal and finished with a shot on the net and four hits. Signed as a free agent last July, he has been the best defenseman for Providence this season with six goals and 35 assists in 60 games, but he has been impressed with the Bruins’ locker room.
“I love the way they support each other. It’s an incredibly welcoming environment, like nothing I’ve ever been a part of in the NHL and that was before they had 63 wins,’’ said Carrick. “That was at the start of the year.’’
Bruins Week Ahead
- Thursday: at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m.
- Stanley Cup Playoffs: TBA
