By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88
Hockey history was made this weekend as the Boston Bruins win back-to-back match-ups against the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers. Boston now has the most all-time wins with 63 games. Their 2-1 win over the Devils tied the NHL record of 62 games won-a record previously held by the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning.
With Saturday’s win, the Bruins tied with the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens with 129 points. Boston’s point record was third behind the 1976-77 Habs and the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings. David Pastrnak also hit a career milestone tallying his 60th goal of a season along with scoring his 15th career hat trick.
Saturday Night Fever
In front of a boisterous TD Garden crowd, the bout against the New Jersey Devils had all the makings of a Playoff game. Pavel Zacha netted a pair of goals giving the Bruins an early 2-0 lead, securing the team’s 33rd win on home ice this season.
Within the first five minutes of the first period, Boston found itself on the power play. Zacha scored his 19th goal of the season during the man advantage off a Hampus Lindholm shot. His second would be off a David Pastrnak shot, banking the puck past New Jersey’s netminder Mackenzie Blackwood.
With the goal, Zacha becomes the third Bruin in club history to score 20 goals in his first season with Boston. Netminder Linus Ullmark continued to shine in between the pipes as witnessed during the second period. A wild sequence saw Ullmark make back-to-back-to-back saves on a breakaway, a follow-up, and a rebound attempt.
Jesper Bratt scored the Devil’s lone goal of the night during the first period. New Jersey would have a chance to tie during a four-minute powerplay when Charlie McAvoy was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking.
The Bruins would edge out the Devils to win 2-1. Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves while Linus Ullmark made 29 saves. New Jersey remained one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Taylor Hall returned to the lineup Saturday night after missing 20 games due to a lower-body injury. He posted four shots in 12:12 of ice time. With the win, Ullmark (39) has now passed Tiny Thompson (38) for the second most in a season in Bruins history, behind Pete Peeters (40 in 1982-83).
Easter Sunday
Charlie Coyle scored 47 seconds into the first period giving the Bs an early 1-0 lead. Celebrations were short-lived when Philly’s Wade Allison tied it at 1:04 unassisted.
The first period continued to be at times quiet both in gameplay and penalty-wise. Boston and Philly continued to create some scoring chances but were unable o close them out as the first twenty minutes ended in a 1-1 tie. The Bruins outshot the Flyers 13-10.
Things picked up quickly in the second period. David Pastrnak would net his 58th goal of the season squeaking the puck past Felix Sandstrom giving the B’s a 2-1 lead to start the period.
A potential third goal would come under review when it was initially waved off. Connor Clifton drove to the net and looked to be shoved into Sandstrom. Pastrnak would net the loose puck in. Boston challenged the call unsuccessfully and was assessed a bench minor for delay-of-game (served by Jakub Lauko).
Luckily the Bruins killed off Philly’s power play. Pastrnak netted his 59th goal of the season as he sizzled the puck past Sandstrom giving the team a 3-1 lead. Tyler Bertuzzi would set up a one-timer as he fed the puck to Pastrnak.
The Flyers were within one goal as Joel Farrabee scored his 14th of the season. Gameplay picked up as Philly looked to tie the game up during their powerplay. After a battle in front of the B’s net during the man advantage, the Flyers found themselves down a player when Konecny was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct.
After the four-on-four gameplay came to an end, the Bruins continued on with their powerplay but were unable to score. Jeremy Swayman made a crucial save mere seconds after the Konecny penalty expired. Boston ended the period with a 3-2 lead.
For the first time in his career, David Pastrnak went on to score his 60th goal of the season and 15th regular season hat-trick. This is the first time two NHL players have scored 60 goals in one season (the other player being Connor McDavid). He is also the first Bruins player to score 60 in a season since Phil Esposito (61 in 1974-75).
Once again the Flyers were within one goal as Owen Tippett scored his 24th of the season. Pavel Zacha gave the B’s a two-goal lead with three minutes left in the game.
Boston would go on to win with a final score of 5-3. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman would tally his 23rd win with 34 saves. The Flyers outshot the B’s 37 to 34 who still have two more regular season games on hand. Tyle Bertuzzi had three points tonight while Pavel Zacha had two.
The Bruins were without their team captain Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy, Dmitry Orlov, Taylor Hall, and Linus Ullmark.
NEXT GAME: Boston Bruins versus the Washington Capitals at TD Garden with puck drop a 7: 00 pm.
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