Best win of the season? Bruins make a statement with blowout of Avalanche originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Bruins have not enjoyed tremendous success against playoff teams this season, but they had absolutely no trouble dominating a Colorado Avalanche team Monday afternoon that entered TD Garden with the NHL's best record.
The performance was as close to a complete, 60-minute effort as we've seen from the Bruins all season -- and it was all without their leading scorer in suspended forward Brad Marchand. It also sent a strong statement to the rest of the league that the B's are capable of beating anyone, even elite teams such as the Avalanche, when they're firing on all cylinders.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
Boston took a 1-0 lead in the first period on David Pastrnak's goal, then blew the game open with a three-goal second period before ultimately securing a 5-1 victory.
Among the most encouraging signs for the Bruins were the blue line providing much-needed scoring depth, the power play breaking out of its slump, Jake DeBrusk ending a eight-game goal drought and Taylor Hall continuing to flourish as a playmaker with three assists. Pastrnak, after two goals against Colorado, has lit the lamp 19 times in his last 22 games.
"I think it was the best game of this year," Pastrnak said. "We are talking full games, 60 minutes. We just stayed in the moment. We were really energized, and it was a great win for us. It was a big two points."
U.S. & World
2022 NHL trade deadline: Ranking Bruins' biggest roster needs to fix
The Bruins also had a 21-16 advantage in scoring chances, a 13-4 edge in high-danger chances and outscored the Avs 4-0 during 5-on-5 action. Those are impressive margins versus an Avalanche team that entered Monday ranked inside the top five of both goals-for percentage and scoring chances-for percentage at 5-on-5.
This heat map shows how many good scoring opportunities the Bruins generated in front of the net (via Natural Stat Trick):
There's little doubt that this victory was the Bruins' most impressive of the season. The Avalanche are a phenomenal squad loaded with superstars all over the ice.
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was quite pleased by what he saw from his team, but also noted it's more important that his guys build on this performance and keep piling up favorable results on a consistent basis.
"It could propel (us), for sure. I'm not going to take -- other than it was a really good hockey game for us. Our top guys outplayed their top guys," Cassidy said. "Goaltending was solid. I think our D were engaged in the game. We played as a group of five.
"You know those videos that you throw in the trash can (after a bad game)? This is one of those you keep. There's a lot of clips that will look back on a month from now and say, 'Hey, this is when all five guys were involved in the forecheck, forwards were coming for the D, etc.' There’s gonna be some really good teaching moments in this one, and it also resulted in some goals and a nice win. But I'd rather look at a stretch of time (opposed to one game)."
This blowout win over the Avs, to some degree, is not a huge surprise. The Bruins have been one of the league's best teams since Jan. 1 with a 15-7-2 record over that span. Boston has played its best hockey of the season since the calendar flipped to 2022.
| Since Jan. 1 | Bruins | NHL Rank |
| Wins | 15 | T-2nd |
| Goals | 50 | 4th |
| Shot Attempts % | 53.07 | 7th |
| Shots On Net % | 55.55 | 3rd |
| Scoring Chances | 555 | 1st |
| High-Danger Chances | 217 | T-3rd |
We now have a 24-game sample -- more than a quarter of the season -- showing the Bruins are still capable of being a legit contender. This run also includes wins over playoff-caliber teams such as the Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Bruins. They're about to embark on a six-game road trip -- their longest of the season -- that features a bunch of matchups against quality opponents, including the Vegas Golden Knights.
Monday's performance gave the Bruins a blueprint on how they need to play to emerge from this upcoming stretch out West with several wins and plenty of momentum entering the final stages of the regular season.
"We've been on the road for a while, then coming back to our building for just one game. We wanted to protect our building, get the two points, knowing we have a tough road trip going out West," Pastrnak said. "Hopefully we can build off this game and have a better road trip than the last one."
