By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On X / Twitter @adbblue
The Boston Bruins defeated the Utah Hockey Club 1-0 at TD Garden Thursday night. This was the team’s first game under interim head coach Joe Sacco, and the team played solid hockey in the victory. He was asked what the win meant to him following the game. “Pretty good. Obviously, I think that getting our guys to get a win, too, was even more important to make them feel better about themselves.”
The Bruins had trouble solving Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka all night as he was stellar in net, making 30 saves. Joonas Korpisalo was just as sharp as the other end, posting a 21-save shutout, his second of the season.
First Period
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov opened the game with a thunderous hit against the corner boards on Clayton Keller setting the tone. The first five minutes of the opening period featured little offensive action, with Utah only having two registered shots on goal. A brief scrap occurred with 13:43 on the clock when Robert Bortuzzo and Mark Kastelic dropped the mitts. It was a quick bout, with Kastelic getting the takedown.
The Bruins had the first power play chance of the game but were only able to generate a couple of chances toward the end of the man advantage. Utah also got their first chance on the power play but could not generate much. Boston got another chance up a man and produced all sorts of quality looks but couldn’t find the back of the net. Joonas Korpisalo was sound in between the pipes.
Second Period
Utah opened the middle period by controlling the game and pressed Boston, making it hard for them to exit the defensive zone. Boston would have their fourth power play of the game and again couldn’t cash in. Brad Marchand had a chance to scrape the puck across the goal line, but Ian Cole got his stick in the way to keep the game scoreless. After tilting the ice back in their favor, Boston earned their fifth power play in the contest and finally converted.
Elias Lindholm potted his third goal of the season to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Following the goal, Kastelic and Bortuzzo squared off in their second fight of the game, and Kastelic pummeled him.
Marchand spoke about the importance of Kastelic after the win. “Guys like him, you never really, truly understand how valuable they are. They’re the guys that really carry the team in the toughest times.”He did receive an extra minor for roughing prior to the fight, but the Bruins killed it off.
Third Period
The Black and Gold had a slow first few minutes of the final period but looked to shift the momentum back in their favor on their sixth power play of the game. After some good looks early in the man advantage, it faded towards the end, and they couldn’t extend the lead. Utah was able to establish a solid forecheck later in the period, which led to some dangerous opportunities.
Cole Koepke took a slashing penalty, giving Utah their fourth power play opportunity of the game. However, the Bruins dug deep and killed it off. It appeared the game was sealed when David Pastrnak buried an empty-net goal, but it was overturned because he played the puck with a high stick. Boston withstood one final push from Utah. With the goalie pulled in a five-on-five situation, and gutted out a 1-0 win.
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