The Bruins continue to be perfect on their first road trip of the season, grabbing a 3-1 victory Sunday night over the Anaheim Ducks. Rookie Matt Poitras was the big star with two goals, but here are five other takeaways from the game:
1. Going streaking early.
The Bruins have now won their first five games of the season, and that constitutes their best start to a season since they were 6-0-0 in 1937-38, some 86 years ago.
They’ve taken six out of a possible six points in winning road games at San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim, with the final game of their four-game road trip coming Tuesday night in Chicago, where the Bruins will get another up-close look at the Blackhawks’ rookie sensation Connor Bedard.
Dating back to last season, the Bruins are now a perfect 11-0-0 in their last 11 road games. The B’s won their last eight road games to close out last year, and have taken their first three this month.
The last time they lost a regular season road game was March 14, against (dramatic music) Chicago.
2. Bruins fan base makes its road presence known.
Much has been made of the bonding experience that comes from an early-season road swing, as players get to know one another off the ice at dinner and on non-game days. That’s been a benefit.
But the Bruins have also had the advantage of great fan support at all three California stops this week. There were plenty of Boston fans on hand in San Jose and Los Angeles, but the Honda Center in Anaheim seemed to have the most number of Bruins fans.
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That fan base didn’t have much to cheer about after the Bruins were held scoreless for the first two periods and into the final period. But when rookie Matt Poitras finally got the Bruins on the board at 6:29 of the third, Bruins’ fans made their presence known. As Poitras celebrated his first NHL goal, Boston fans — many of them in Bruins sweaters — banged on the glass and celebrated with him.
3. DeBrusk returns.
Winger Jake DeBrusk was a healthy scratch Saturday night in LA, benched after being late for a team meeting. He was back in the lineup against the Ducks, with coach Jim Montgomery saying pre-game that the incident was history and Sunday represented a fresh start for the forward.
DeBrusk very nearly made an almost immediate impact. With Brad Marchand called for cross-checking and the Bruins down a man, DeBrusk gathered a loose puck in his own zone and took off, using his speed to get some distance between himself a couple of Anaheim defenders.
On a shorthanded breakaway bid, DeBrusk beat Ducks goals goalie John Gibson to the blocker side, but the shot clanged off the left post.
But even after being thwarted, DeBrusk went to enjoy a strong game, picking up an assist on the second goal scored by rookie center Matt Poitras. Poitras pounced on a rebound from Gibson, who made the initial stop on DeBrusk, but wasn’t in position to stop the follow-up try from Poitras.
4. Bruins dodge some injuries.
The Bruins were already down some manpower for the night with Milan Lucic a last-minute scratch after taking a shot off his right foot the night before and defenseman Derek Forbort out with a groin strain.
In the first period, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk collided with Anaheim forward Sam Carrick in the slot and appeared to take an inadvertent shot to the head from Carrick. Grzelcyk immediately left the ice and was seen holding a towel to his face as he went down the tunnel and headed for the dressing room. Before the period ended, Grzelcyk returned to action, with a cut on the bridge of his nose, but no other issues — a relief for a player who missed the final five games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, having suffered a concussion in Game 2.
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With a little over two minutes left In the second period, there was another scare, and it, too ,involved a blow to the head. Forward Trent Frederic, who was involved in a heavyweight bout with Kings defenseman Andreas Englund Saturday night, absorbed a hit up high from Anaheim’s Radko Gudas. Frederic seemed to wobble for a minute before steadying himself. He, too, left the ice and went down the tunnel, but rejoined the B’s for the start of the third period.
5. Ullmark picks up where he left off.
Last year’s Vezina Trophy winner, Linus Ullmark, has looked just as sharp in first two weeks of the new season. In three games to date, he’s allowed just three goals — one in each — and has won all three contests.
Ullmark, who’s alternated with Jeremy Swayman, stopped 30 of 31 shots, and was especially sharp in the middle period when the Ducks outshot the Bruins 10-4. He kept the game scoreless through the first two periods, and after the Ducks finally broke through at 5:05 of the third on a strike from Mason McTavish, Ullmark blanked the home team the rest of the way, buying time for the Bruins to get going with their own scoring.
“Out goaltending has been really good,’’ coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the game. “I think it’s probably why we’re unbeaten because of the great job both of them have been doing.”
