BOSTON — Scoring six goals in a game typically is enough to lift the spirits of any hockey team. But for the Bruins on Tuesday, the other number on the scoreboard was even more encouraging.
Boston blanked the visiting Arizona Coyotes 6-0, marking the first shutout of the season for a team that’s proven it can score goals but given up far too many of them.
“Any time you don’t let them score one goal, it’s always a good feeling,” said David Krejci, who scored twice in the win. “I’m sure it was big for (goalie Tuukka Rask). He came up with some big saves. I’m really happy with him. It was a good 60 minutes by everyone, and that’s how we have to play every single game.”
Rask certainly wouldn’t mind that (“Just keeping the goals against down, obviously. That’s always the goal.”), but he downplayed the impact such a performance could have on his confidence.
“I don’t think (my confidence level) changes,” said Rask, who finished with 24 saves. “I felt good today, so I just try to keep that going. Obviously, a shutout makes it look even better, but I felt good. I think the team felt good. The team looked good, so that’s a good building block for us, and we’re trying to keep doing this.”
Some additional notes from Boston’s fourth win in five games:
— Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes and Brett Connolly all got off to slow starts this season, but each contributed multiple points Tuesday night. Beleskey finished with two assists after missing the previous two games with an upper body injury, while Hayes and Connolly each added a goal and a helper.
Hayes (goals in three of his last five games) and Connolly (three-game goal streak) both have been hot of late after combining for zero points in the Bruins’ first three games.
“We’re just both going at it hard right now, just trying to capitalize on the opportunities,” Hayes said. “You know, (Connolly) had a really nice shot and goal (Tuesday night), but he’s had a lot of nice shots and had his chances and just capitalized on it (Tuesday night).”
— Nearly all of the Bruins’ offensive production this season has come from their forward group. In fact, entering Tuesday, Kevan Miller’s goal against the Colorado Avalanche had been the only one scored by a Bruins defenseman this season.
Joe Morrow, who missed that game in Colorado and two others as he recovered from a bout with the flu, joined in the fun against the Coyotes. The 22-year-old D-man sniped one past goalie Mike Smith late in the second period for his first point of the season and just the second of his young NHL career.
Joe Morrow with the snipe, #NHLBruins take the 3-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/wibw9owCPx
— Garden Grizzlies (@GardenGrizzlies) October 28, 2015
All smiles from Joe Morrow on the bench after his 1st goal of the season pic.twitter.com/0tk7MgLME8
— Garden Grizzlies (@GardenGrizzlies) October 28, 2015
“It definitely felt good,” Morrow said, “Especially to get that first one out of the way. Points are hard to come by. If you get six or seven – I don’t even know how many goals we got in that game. It was a blast watching. But everyone contributed. And yeah, it definitely brings you up to pace real quick if you can do that after being sick and not being able to play.”
— Speaking of Miller, he played just two shifts after being hooked into the boards by Arizona’s Tobias Rieder midway through the second period. Julien said removing Miller from the game “was more of a precaution” given the lopsided score and noted that he also spelled forwards Joonas Kemppainen and David Pastrnak for stretches.
“At that stage, we didn’t want to risk anything more that we needed to, so we sent those guys to the room,” he said.
— The Bruins announced earlier in the day they’d assigned forward Max Talbot to Providence. Talbot appeared in just two of Boston’s seven games before his demotion and did not record a point or a shot on goal.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
