By: Gayle Troiani | Follow me on Twitter @LadyBruinsFan
The Boston Bruins remain undefeated at home, earning a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks a the TD Garden Sunday night. The black and gold are now 14-2-0 while riding the 9-0-0 home record, while the Canucks lost their third straight game.
“It says we can win games in a lot of different fashions,” Jim Montgomery said of his team’s winning record. “It says we’re deep, and it says we have great leadership. I can’t compliment our players, and the commitment to the team by their attitudes, enough.”
In the first period, Vancouver looked like a team on a mission. They played the body every chance they got, they were clogging up lanes and preventing the Bruins from getting pucks down deep in the offensive zone, but Taylor Hall changed the course of the frame when he put on a skating clinic cycling around the net before passing the puck to Connor Clifton for a slap shot that beat Thatcher Demko for the 1-0 lead. Just over the midway point of the first period, TJ Miller tied the game for Vancouver with a power play goal.
With the game knotted at one, AJ Greer laid an open ice hit right at center ice against Vasily Podkolzin and the latter to exception, challenging Greer to drop the gloves. Podkolzin landed a few punches, but then Greer delivered a blow that shattered Podkolzin’s nose. After the bought, Greer made his way to the box while Podkolzin went down the tunnel and did not return. Former Bruin Jack Studnicka put his team on the penalty kill when he was called for tripping David Pastrnak with 4:25 left in the first. The Bruins capitalized on the man advantage when Patrice Bergeron tipped home a Pastranak pass from the bumper.
Even though they had the 2-1 lead heading into the second, they haven’t had the most vital periods in the middle frame this season. However, the black and gold played their best second period of the season, scoring two goals to give them the 4-1 lead.
Pavel Zacha scored his third goal of the season when he completed an odd-man rush with Hampus Lindholm while the two teams were skating 4-on-4. Clifton sent Zacha a breakaway pass going strong to the net with Hampus Lindholm. Zacha took the return pass from Lindholm for a one-timer past Demko for the two-goal lead. Brad Marchand added to the Bruins’ lead when he buried a wrist shot on the power play. All five of Marchand’s goals have come on the power play this season.
Vancouver would get a goal back in the third, cutting the lead to 4-2 when Sheldon Dries tipped the puck past Linus Ullmark on the power play at 15:26. While Pastrnak sat in the penalty box for a delay of game – puck over the glass penalty, the Canucks pulled their goaltender to make it 6-on-4 but Tomas Nosek changed the momentum by scoring his first goal of the season, his first since January 2.
“It felt really good. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a long time, but it’s over now, and I’m really happy,” Nosek said after the game. “I can keep focusing on the game now.”
Lindholm had three assists along with the five goal scorers, and Ullmark made 29 saves. The Bruins will look to extend their winning home streak when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at the TD Garden on Thursday at 7 pm.
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