BOSTON — Elias Lindholm ended his goal drought. Joonas Korpisalo was terrific and the Bruins gave Joe Sacco a win in his first game behind the Boston bench.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had hoped firing Jim Montgomery and elevating Sacco would spark his team to come out with more energy. They did that, but still had to squeak by Utah, 1-0, on Thursday at TD Garden.
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Elias Lindholm, whose offensive woes have been a much-discussed part of the Bruins’ early woes, broke his 17-game goal drought in the second period. On the power play and jammed home the rebound a Brad Marchand shot to put Boston up 1-0 with 7:19 left in the second.
David Pastrnak appeared to add an empty-net power play goal in the final minute, but it was reversed for a high stick with 58 seconds left.
Some anxious moments followed as Utah took four shots in the final minute, but only one reached Korpisalo as Boston held on.
Takeaways
Mark Kastelic and Robert Bortuzzo have a real feud between them — Mark Kastelic and Robert Bortuzzo fought twice on Thursday and they weren’t the sort of fights where two guys just square off to spark their respective teams.
In the first period, Bortuzzo jumped on the ice and immediately grabbed Kastelic to fight.
In the second, after Bortuzzo elbowed Kastelic, the Bruins forward grabbed him and didn’t wait for his invitation to fight to be accepted.
The Bruins had a more shoot-first mentality — After morning skate on Thursday, Joe Sacco suggested that he wanted his team to focus less on puck possession and more on shooting in an attempt to get themselves going.
The change was instantly apparent. They outshot Utah 15-5 in the first and 11-9 in the second. They slowed down in the third with just seven shots. They took 18 shots on seven power plays and 13 at even strength.
Korpisalo solid again — Joonas Korpisalo earned his second shutout of the season and continued to thrive. He made 21 saves. The Bruins are 3-0-1 in his November starts.
Merkulov getting a broader look — Among Sacco’s notable first-game changes was giving rookie forward Georgii Merkulov a spot on the top power play. He played 4:25 of ice time on the Bruins seven power plays.
