Bruins Close Out October with Fifth Straight Win

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Charlie Coyle didn't hesitate.
The veteran centerman, reflecting on the Bruins' historic start to the season, could only think about one thing: the club's lone loss.
"I wish we had that other game back, the Senators one," Coyle said, referencing the B's 7-5 setback in Ottawa on Oct. 18.
That is the mentality of the Boston Bruins these days. Victory is the only priority.

And Boston continued its winnings ways on Friday night at Nationwide Arena behind a 30-save shutout from Linus Ullmark and a goal apiece from Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, and David Pastrnak en route to a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The victory was the Bruins' fifth straight and pushed them to 8-1-0 on the season, the best nine-game start in team history, as they closed out a magical opening month.
"It's a great start. I don't know if a lot of people expected us to have the record that we have now. But it doesn't matter," said Coyle, who was one of seven different Bruins with a point on Friday night. "We know what's in here, the guys we have, the guys that can fill in, and take responsibility. That's a great sign for a team with a few key guys out.
"We're pretty happy but we want to keep pushing here. We're never satisfied. This doesn't get us in the playoffs, this doesn't give us a championship. It's a good start, yeah, but we've got to keep pushing and playing the right way. I think that's why we're getting success."

The Bruins, however, were not in the best position for triumph on Friday night. They were playing the second end of a back-to-back and the finale of three games in four nights. Not to mention, Brad Marchand and David Krejci were out of the lineup.
But Boston battled through - and that's what impressed coach Jim Montgomery the most.
"Just how committed they are to each other," Montgomery said when asked what has stood out to him the most over the first month of the season. "We're at the end of three in four with travel - the blocked shots, we have a lot of guys wearing ice bags right now.
"It shows you the commitment early on in the year that we have to playing hard for each other. And we're getting good results because of it…if you would have told me we'd be 8-1, I'd be like I've got some swamp land I want to sell you."
A large chunk of the Bruins' hot start can be contributed to strong goaltending, which was once again the case against the Blue Jackets. Ullmark was terrific, stopping all 30 shots he faced for his fifth career shutout and first of the season.
Ullmark, who leads the NHL in wins, became the fourth Bruins goalie to start the season with a win in six or more straight decisions, joining Tim Thomas (8-0-0 in 2010-11), Tuukka Rask (6-0-0 in 2016-17), and Tiny Thompson (6-0-0 in 1937-38).
"It's unreal how comfortable I am standing behind the bench. We're giving up odd-man rushes, there's guys open on the back door and you're not even worried because you just expect our goalies to make saves," said Montgomery. "It's a very comforting feeling as a coach behind the bench."

Coyle Strikes Shorthanded

Coyle struck for a highlight-reel tally for the second consecutive game when he picked up a loose puck along the wall in the Bruins' end and surged down the right wing in the neutral zone, before dancing through the Columbus zone and burying a nifty backhand tally shorthanded to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead just 4:30 into the second period.
"He's just a dominant two-way center that I think is really enjoying where he's being utilized, both special teams and 5-on-5 and he's relishing a lot of matches that we're giving him," said Montgomery.
The Weymouth native has, no doubt, been pleased with his performance to start the season (3-2-5 in nine games) but was more interested in crediting Pavel Zacha for the work that led to his goal against Columbus.
"Sometimes you just find yourself in situations - sometimes you create yourself, sometimes you put yourself in those situations, sometimes it's your teammates helping you. You try to take advantage of whatever is in front of you," said Coyle, whose shorthanded marker was the sixth of his career and fourth with the Bruins, which is third on the team since he joined Boston in Feb. 2019 behind Marchand (nine) and Patrice Bergeron (seven).
"It was a PK goal today, but Pav kind of drives that net and opens things up for me…I don't know if Pav gets anything for that, but he plays a key figure in that situation. That's what we're all doing."
Like his coach, Coyle was impressed with how committed the Bruins were to playing the right way even in the closing minutes of a one-side game at the end of a heavy stretch of hockey.
"Everyone's playing the right way," said Coyle. "You see it's a back-to-back, third period, it's easy to let up. But Linus played unbelievable, he made some huge saves. But he kept coming and guys are blocking shots towards the end and it's a 4-0 game, back-to-back and guys are still doing the little things. That's the sign of a good team. That's what we're all about."

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