Bruins Game Notes: Korpisalo Records 2nd Shutout in 1-0 Win Over Utah – Hockey Writers –

It's a new season for the Boston Bruins (9-9-3) as Joe Sacco makes his debut as interim coach on Thursday (Nov. 21) against the Utah Hockey Club. Sacco took over the coaching staff after former coach Jim Montgomery was fired earlier in the week. This move did not come as a shock as Boston's struggles began to get worse as time went on, going 4-4-2 in their last ten games entered last night including a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday (Nov. 18).

The tide may be turning, however, as the Bruins find themselves back in the win column with a 1-0 victory over Utah, taking the season series 1-0-1. Elias Lindholm scored his third goal of the season, Mark Kastelic made two saves and Joonas Korpisalo stopped all 21 shots he faced in his second shutout of the season to lead Boston to victory.

Boston's High-Paced Energy Is A Clear Development

In the final games of the Montgomery era, the Bruins were a slow, lackluster team. Most of their game offensively was dumping the puck in the opponent's zone, losing the race along the boards and falling behind quickly defensively. This led to more low-scoring games and the Bruins producing fewer and fewer chances. However, right from the start of this match, the strength of Boston was incomparable to the other games they have played this season.

Related: Meet Boston Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco

Forked and pressure on the dump and chase is much improved and looks like Bruins style of hockey. Mark Kastelic, Cole Koepke and John Beecher looked like the most effective fourth line early in the season, putting pressure on Utah's defense and hitting everyone in sight. Each line kept that momentum going, allowing more shots on goal and preventing Utah from getting chances the other way because they were too busy running to avoid Boston's checks.

Power surges after coaching changes are rare and can last for a while, but right now, the Bruins look like a completely different team than the Bruins did a month ago. Even if the goal numbers aren't where they'd like them to be, good hockey teams must be able to win tight, low-scoring games and to do that, you need motivation and energy. 60-plus minutes to keep the defense on their heels. Boston did just that and it worked.

Bruins Special Teams Look Strong On Both Sides

Entering Thursday's contest, the Bruins were among the league's worst in penalties. They led the NHL in most penalty minutes (233), had ten more penalties taken than any other team (101), had the worst power play percentage (11.7%) and the 25th worst penalty kill percentage (75.6%). By bringing in Sacco as the new coach, many had high hopes that all of these areas would improve – at least slightly – which would make Boston a better team overnight.

As for the power play, they only scored one goal, but it was some power plays that made them look even better. Despite strong penetration, Boston was much better at getting the puck in the neutral zone and going to the offensive zone without giving it back to a defender. Once in place, they seem to have more planning and smarter decision-making than previous efforts at the start of the season. The passes were very good, many shots were attempted and Boston attacked the rebounds with more intent. Elias Lindholm hit a 17-game hitting streak off David Pastrnak's one-time pass to Brad March and allowed Lindholm to bury it in an open cage.

Elias Lindholm gets the monkey off his back after a month without a goal 🐵 pic.twitter.com/5IadZqFSTU

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 22, 2024

There was improvement on the penalty kill as well, going a perfect 4-for-4 with the man in the box and for most of the game, he did a much better job of holding himself back from the first kill. That level of energy was especially noticeable with only four skaters on the ice as they kept moving their feet, cutting passing and shooting lanes to keep Utah's options limited. When the chances came on goal, Korpisalo kept out the trailers and helped prevent Manadvantage goals. It will take time to put up those brutal numbers in the first 20 games, but this is a step in the right direction.

Korpisalo is Strong When Needed

It wasn't a very busy night for Korpisalo, but he was on time for the Bruins in this win. Utah had a few strong moves, especially after the power play, where they dominated the penalty zone and wore down the Bruins defensemen from being on the ice for long periods of time. Korpisalo looked calm, focused on the ball, saving what he had to do to finish second in the season.

There were pre-season concerns about Korpisalo and how he would fare in Boston following his struggles with the Ottawa Senators, but with Jeremy Swayman off to a rough start, Korpisalo has been one of the few bright spots on this Boston team and it has continued to last. at night. Finishing the game with a 1.73 goals-against average and some big stops in the dying minutes in Utah's tie-up efforts were crucial to Boston's exit from the slump.

The Bruins will look to keep the train rolling as they head to Michigan to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday (Nov. 23) before returning home to TD Garden on Tuesday (Nov. 26) against the Vancouver Canucks.