The names were the same: Brad Marchand, Torey Krug, Chris Wagner, Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle et al.
But that was a different Bruins team Friday night in Winnipeg.
Was it just an energized team coming off a nine-day layoff? Or was it a team sick of being pushed around that finally decided to do something about it?
I am not sure, but either way, I liked it.
Friday’s contest with Jets was a small reminder of what hockey in the NHL use to be. There were several big hits, three fighting majors, two instigator penalties and a combined 74 penalty minutes.
As close to “old time hockey,… as we’ve seen from the Bruins in quite some time.
The Jets are a fun team to watch. They’re big, they’re physical and they don’t shy away from roughing things up when needed. They also have speed and a ton of skill. I mean I felt like it was a night of Patrik Laine just riffling pucks on net, and off the post, all night.
But unlike games past, the Bruins matched everything thrown their way. The skill, the speed and physicality.
Matching the Jets physicality was certainly most impressive.
“That’s ‘old time hockey’ right there,… said Brad Marchand who was one of three Bruins issued a fighting major.
“Any time there was a big hit there was a fight. That’s how [the game] used to be. It was fun to play a game like that. It’s not going to happen every night, but when they do, they’re fun to be a part of.…
The Bruins found themselves in a 1-0 hole six minutes into the contest after a breakdown in the defensive zone led to Laine’s 18th of the season.
From there the Jets turned the temperature up, bringing their well-known physical game to life. But much like they did in a game with the Penguins earlier this month, the Bruins matched the Jets hit-for-hit and punch-for-punch.
"It was great by our team to show up and stick up for each other and have a game like that,… Marchand added. “They're a lot of fun to be a part of, especially when we were [shorthanded] for pretty much the entire second period, to be able to pull that off."
The second period saw a combined 64 penalty minutes. It was a period that saw the Bruins kill off six Jets power plays, including a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities.
"Our penalty kill was huge. Our penalty kill is the biggest reason why we won tonight,… said Jake DeBrusk who scored the game-winner with a power play strike of his own in the third period. “It starts with Tuukka [Rask] obviously, our best PK’er. Then we get timely blocks, timely clears and good sticks. “That's why we won the game tonight."
Marchand, Brandon Carlo and Karson Kuhlman all received fighting majors, while Charlie McAvoy dropped the gloves but was not issued a fighting major. All three—or four if you want to count McAvoy—fights stemmed from big hits by both teams.
All clean hits of course.
It was simply a fun, entertaining night of hockey between two very good teams.
"Part of the message, it was definitely about being harder to play against and building these types of games if they're out there for you," said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. "It was there, it presented itself. [Zdeno Chara] had a good hit. Charlie [McAvoy] has a good, clean hit.…
It was a message sending night. McAvoy, Carlo, Marchand and Kuhlman are not the first four that you’d expect to be dropping the gloves. It’s clear the Bruins heard the criticism of late and are here to show you that they’re going to fight for each other and they’re not here to be pushed around.
"That's what separates good teams from bad teams, when you have a team that really cares about each other, and most good teams have that,… added Marchand.
“It's not something we're gonna lose in here. I think it's necessary"
I don’t think the Bruins ever lost caring about each other, but for a period of time caring for each other wasn't showing on the ice.
On Friday, the Bruins finally showed everyone they care about each other.
They showed it by sticking up for each other, and they showed this by picking up two important points.