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Nearing the end of their five-game homestand, the Boston Bruins put forth one of their most dominant performances of the season on Thursday night in a 4-2 victory over Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild. The B’s got four goals -- including a season-high three from Loui Eriksson -- while the penalty kill went a perfect 3-for-3 on route to their third home win in 10 tries at TD Garden this year.
Here are some leftover thoughts and notes from the win…
Julien appears to have pushed right buttons for aggressive Bruins
You’d have to say that it was message sent, received, and read (sidenote: most of us will never have a power greater than the psychological one that comes with an iPhone’s ‘read receipt’ feature) from Claude Julien to his players on Thursday night. Without naming names and insisting that he’d handle things ‘internally’, Julien essentially questioned the will and desire of some of his players in the Boston locker room following Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the San Jose Sharks, and after a Wednesday that came with line-shuffling across the board, the Black and Gold put forth a hard-nosed, gritty win.
I typically hate to buy into the idea that being physical and ‘gritty’ is enough to win you an NHL game, but I do believe that it does create anxiety for your opposition if it’s done in an effective way. If you’re continuously winning battles along the wall, or imposing your will against the player that has the puck along the wall, you’re going to wear guys down. If you’re clogging lanes and forcing the skater or his shot to go through you, you’re going to wear guys down. Especially if that game is in your building, too.
And I think that’s what you saw from the Bruins against the Wild on Thursday night. But on top of the physical side of things, which the normally rowdy Boston Garden crowd has always been a fan of, the Bruins had support and communication in all three zones, and it just absolutely stifled Minnesota.
“You need that,… Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said about the team’s aggressive play. “You need guys stand up for one another. It’s not just about fighting it’s about kind of being there and being accountable for your teammates so it thought it was a good response by everyone.…
Of those you’d say played a heavy style that the Bruins needed, Matt Beleskey (who dropped the gloves for his first fight in a Bruins uniform) and fourth-line center Joonas Kemppainen stuck out as obvious pluses on the night for Julien’s squad. Beleskey was a versatile banger, beginning the night on Boston’s third line before finishing the night on the first line, while Kemppainen, whose game is certainly subtle but effective, continues to emerge as a solid three-zone option for Julien.
“Well we had to be better than last game,… Julien said of his club’s aggression for the full 60 minutes. “They were determined to be better, and like I said, our effort has been poor in those kind of games, and our guys just showed determination, and hopefully some pride in there as well. It’s saying, ‘This isn’t acceptable, and we need to be better.’ So let’s give them credit tonight for showing that.…
Loui scores three, is still somehow asked about Tyler Seguin
Ask anybody who the B’s most consistent performer has been in 2015, and if they’ve been paying attention, they should say Loui Eriksson. (Hell, I would have signed No. 21 to an extension by now if I were general manager of the Bruins). The 30-year-old has been an absolute wonder for the Black and Gold’s top six this season and continued his run with a hat trick in last night’s win.
It’s definitely worth noting that this is the first year that Eriksson, a top six talent his entire NHL career, has skated on Boston’s top six. That’s ideal for both the Bruins and Eriksson (and ‘bout damn time).
And it hasn’t taken anything away the other, finer elements of his lauded three-zone game.
“As much as he scored three goals and we can all look at that, it was a great accomplishment, he also was good in the other areas, the penalty kill, and our D-zone,… Julien said of Eriksson. “He was one of those guys that had his stick in the right places, taking away some of their slot opportunities that they excel in, and he was really on top of his game. So, not only does he deserve to be the best player tonight because of those three goals, but because of the rest of the game as well.…
But Eriksson’s third career hat trick and his first in nearly six years (the last one came back on Dec. 31, 2009) didn’t come without a bit of a sour note. At least in my opinion.
(Let me, if you wouldn’t mind, preface this by saying that I hate 95 percent of media-on-media hits. I think they’re dumb because we’re not the story, the game of hockey is. But this is insane.) So, first came a postgame press conference question to Julien that asked about the Tyler Seguin trade the comparisons between Eriksson and the Bruin-turned-Star in Seguin. Dumb. That game -- and by that I mean a head-to-head game involving Seguin’s Stars and Eriksson’s Bruins -- was over two weeks ago. If you were going to ask a two-year old plus question, that was the game to do it. And then once the Boston locker room opened up, Eriksson, on the heels of scoring three goals in one game, the first Bruin to do that in 20 calendar months, was asked if he’s sick of getting compared to Seguin. Holy hell.
“There’s been a lot of talk about that through the years and it’s nothing I try to think about,… Eriksson, who apparently didn’t play NHL hockey before being traded to the Bruins as part of the Seguin deal, said. “Of course he’s a great player, he’s playing real well. We’re a little different as players and I’m just trying to focus on my game here and try to get better and try to help my team as much as I can.…
Can you imagine? Can you even imagine scoring three of your team’s four goals in a game, moving into the team lead for goals (Eriksson now has nine while David Krejci has eight) and being asked that question? What a ridiculous, embarrassing thing. Just turn in your credential if you’re going to waste everybody’s time with insanely idiotic questions that have no bearing on a game. And again, you could have asked this question not even a month ago when the Bruins and Stars squared off and Eriksson put up a two-goal night. Oh, wait, this question was asked then. But don’t bother finding the transcript. Just ask it for the 98th time, as if Eriksson wasn’t an already proven NHL scorer. Just silly.
What a bozo. B-O-Z-O. Honk, honk.
Zucker shot down by tame-looking slash from Beleskey
This game had a pretty weird ending. Real weird, actually.
With the Bruins simply killing the clock on their win, B’s winger Matt Beleskey struck Minnesota forward Jason Zucker with a seemingly harmless slash (as much as a slash can be, anyways) to the back of the legs. Zucker went down in excruciating pain and laid on the ice for quite a while after the final horn sounded. Zucker’s injury delayed the “Dirty Water… victory song, and prevented the Bruins from crowding around their goaltender. It was just, again, really weird.
The Wild, understandably so, did not have an update on Zucker after the game.
Vatrano leaves with upper-body injury
First-year pro Frankie Vatrano has been the talk of the Hub since his recall from the American Hockey League two weeks ago. After all, the East Longmeadow, Mass. native (I’ll be honest, I still have no idea where East Longmeadow is) scored in his NHL debut -- against the Montreal Canadiens no less -- and has been an undeniable standout, even on the Bruins’ first line. So it’s natural to feel your chest sink, even if it’s just a little bit, with Vatrano’s early exit from Thursday’s win with an upper-body injury.
Nailed along the boards by Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, Vatrano left the ice under his own power (though hunched over) and immediately made his way down the tunnel and to the room.
“I’m going to tell you the old same line, upper body,… Julien said after the win on Thursday. “It happens. I don’t check how severe this and that, and I guess the organization has taken the initiative of releasing more. So you’re not going to get much out of me unfortunately.…
The Bruins can definitely live with a short-term loss of Vatrano, but he’s a tricky player to replace.
Opposite Eriksson on Boston’s first line, Vatrano is a speedy skater that loves to shoot the puck from all over the ice. In essence, he surprises defenses and goalies alike with his wheels and shot. The Bruins don’t have many guys like that, not on their left side, anyways. In the meantime, you can expect Beleskey to suit up in his spot on the Krejci line for the time being, unless the Bruins want to get tricky with it and shift Eriksson back on over to the left side and try somebody like Brett Connolly on the right.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.