Bruins’ third-period dominance fueling record-setting start to season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
One of the traits of a true Stanley Cup contender is not letting the opponent have any hope of victory late in the game.
Even if you’re winning entering the third period, don’t let up and keep your foot on the gas pedal until every sliver of hope your opponent might have is fully eradicated.
This is what the Boston Bruins are doing to opposing teams right now, and it’s one of the main reasons why the Original Six club has the NHL’s best record at 10-1-0.
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The Bruins went into Madison Square Garden on Thursday night to play a very good New York Rangers team with the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Igor Shesterkin — a goalie that posted a .942 save percentage in three games versus the B’s last season.
These teams were tied 1-1 entering the third period. The stage was set for a thrilling finish and plenty of late-game drama.
The Bruins were having none of that.
They outscored the Rangers 4-1 over the final 20 minutes in yet another dominant late-game performance.
Charlie Coyle got the third-period scoring started with a goal that won’t find many highlight reels but was impressive nonetheless. He battled Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in front of the net and showed great strength to get enough of his stick on the puck to bat it over the goal line.
Less than three minutes after the Rangers tied the score 2-2, Trent Frederic scored his second goal of the season to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead. That advantage was pushed up to 4-2 four minutes later when Jake DeBrusk continued his stellar start to the campaign with a goal off a pretty passing sequence by Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha.
The Bruins would add an empty-net tally to finish off a 5-2 win, giving them a league-leading 49 goals scored and nine games with four or more goals scored.
One of the reasons why the Bruins lead the league in scoring is their third-period dominance. The B’s have scored 18 goals in the third period this season while allowing seven. Only the Buffalo Sabres (plus-13) have a better third period goal differential than the Bruins (plus-11).
Finishing the job
3rd Period Goal Differential
Plus-11
NHL rank
2nd
Variation
Double
And it’s not like the Bruins are just cashing in on their third-period scoring chances while the ice is tilted against them. Quite the opposite in fact.
Even while the Bruins were pouring in goals over the final 20 minutes Thursday night, they were outshooting and creating more scoring chances than the Rangers. It’s the kind of don’t-let-up, keep-your-foot-on-their-throat mentality that the best teams possess. The Bruins just kept smothering the Rangers no matter how large their lead grew.
Check out these third-period stats at 5-on-5 from Thursday:
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Goals: 4-1 Bruins
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Shots attempts: 18-10
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Shots on net: 12-3
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Scoring chances: 13-4
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High-danger chances: 6-0
The Bruins were 26th in the league with 74 third-period goals last season. They finished the 2021-22 campaign with just a plus-1 third period goal differential. They couldn’t put teams away and too often let them hang around. The B’s also were outscored 6-4 in the third period during their four losses to the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1 of the playoffs.
This year’s team looks like and is playing like a totally different third period team.
There’s a level of tenacity, determination and focus that is not letting the Bruins cough up leads or let the opponent think there’s still a chance to grab two points. New head coach Jim Montgomery deserves a lot of credit for this. He has clearly instilled plenty of confidence and belief in this group.
There are a lot of reasons why this Bruins team looks like a real championship contender, and the way they finish games is perhaps the biggest one.
