Bruins Match NHL Record with 62nd Win of the Season

BOSTON - The Bruins' march toward history hit its latest checkpoint on Saturday night.
Behind a pair of goals from Pavel Zacha and 29 saves from Linus Ullmark, Boston secured a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden and matched the NHL's single-season record for victories with its 62nd of the 2022-23 campaign.

"It feels great, especially the way we won the game," said coach Jim Montgomery, whose club improved to 62-12-5. "We played Bruins hockey for 60 minutes. Our penalty kill, again, was excellent, the power play - the one we had - was excellent, and our 5-on-5 play was excellent. We gave up a couple of odd-man rushes, but that's the best rush team in the league with their speed."
Boston is now on par with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62-13-7) and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning (62-16-4) and has a chance to set the record on Sunday night in Philadelphia.
"I mean, any time you're talking about putting your team's name and putting our Spoked-B in the history books for the most wins ever in the regular season, it's special," said Montgomery. "And collectively I think what's made this season special is how hard our guys play for each other. I think this record is reflective of if you were thinking of the word 'team.' I think we've described the word 'team' the way we've played in the regular season."
The Bruins now have 129 points on the season, which is tied with the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens for the third-most in NHL history behind the 1976-77 Habs (132) and the 1995-96 Red Wings (131).
"We always want to go and play well, obviously," said Ullmark. "Now, we're lucky enough to say that we played well enough for 62 times. There's still three more games and we're still believing in ourselves and trust the process basically. You gotta recharge, reload for [Sunday's] game as well because there's no freebies. And as happy as we are right now with this, we can pat ourselves a little bit on the shoulder, but there's a new game [Sunday]."
That mindset of not holding onto singular outcomes for too long is exactly what has helped the Bruins have so much success this season. Turning the page, Ullmark explained, is a crucial part of Boston's process.
"I think it's a trust kind of thing," said Ullmark. "We trust our system. We trust ourselves. We trust each other throughout the year. We know that there's no rush, there's no stress. With the way we play throughout the year, we know that we can come back and extend the lead. We can keep the lead.
"Playing these tight games is a lot of fun. This is what's gonna prepare you for the playoffs and it's always a little bit sweeter whenever you go out and win these ones."
The Bruins' victory over the Devils was also their 33rd win on home ice this season, tying the club's all-time mark, which was also achieved in 1970-71 and 1973-74. Per NHL Stats, only four teams in league history have had more home victories in a season (1995-96 Red Wings and 1975-76 Flyers, 36; 2021-22 Panthers, 34).
"Yeah, it did," Montgomery said when asked if it felt like a playoff game on Saturday night. "The energy in the building was unreal. It was great right from the start. Our fans are awesome."
Despite all the success the Bruins have had to this point, Montgomery made sure to reiterate that Boston's ultimate goal is far loftier.
"Our regular season's been great, but we need to win the last game of the season and that is what we're building towards," said Montgomery. "Being able to stay focused and learn how to win when we're facing records is the closest thing you can do, when you're having a season like us, to prepare yourself for the playoffs.
"That was a playoff-type game and I think we managed the game well, offensively, defensively, and special teams."

Zacha Pots a Pair

All of the Bruins' offense came inside the game's first five minutes within a span of 2:44 when Zacha potted a pair to reach the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. The first came on the power play on a tip of Hampus Lindholm's point shot, while the second came when he collected a shot from David Pastrnak - who set a career high with his 48th assist - off the end wall and banked one home off New Jersey goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
Per NHL Stats, Zacha became the first Bruin since Jarome Iginla (30) and Reilly Smith (20) in 2013-14 to score 20 goals in their first season with the club. His two goals in the opening 4:44 of the first were the fastest pair to start a game by a Bruin since Mike Knuble on Feb. 14, 2003 (27 seconds).
"It felt good. I think, especially against Jersey," Zacha, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Devils said of hitting the 20-goal plateau. "It's a special motivation for me a little bit, to show myself, and I was happy that it was against them today. It was a good feeling."

Hall Makes Return

Taylor Hall was back in the Bruins lineup after missing 20 games with a lower-body injury, skating in his familiar third-line, left-wing spot alongside Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. Hall landed four shots on goal in 12:12 of ice time.
"It felt good," said Hall. "It was a good game to come back and play. They're a fast team and they can make you pay pretty easily, so that was a good game to get back and feel the speed of the game and feel the pace.
"I thought our line played pretty well. We had some good looks and, ultimately, we got a win to tie that record. It's really cool to be a part of after going through the rehab process."
Hall added that he made it a point to try to play in "either the Toronto game or this game" in an effort to experience the playoff-level atmosphere inside TD Garden before the real thing begins.
"You know teams that are really looking for points, and against, obviously, a really good team - they have 108 points - that was important," said Hall. "Not to say the next games are meaningless or anything, speak down on those teams. To play a game like that where every shift mattered was great."

Ullmark Shuts the Door

As usual, Ullmark was stellar between the pipes, making 29 saves for his 39th win of the season, which is now the second-most in Bruins history - surpassing Tiny Thompson's 38 in 1929-30 - and just one shy of Pete Peeters' single-season record of 40 set in 1982-83. The netminder's best sequence of the night came early in the second when he made back-to-back-to-back stops, the first on a Jack Hughes breakaway attempt, the second on Hughes' follow-up, and the third on Yegor Sharangovich's rebound try.
"It's crazy," said Hall. "To see a guy coming down on the breakaway against Linus and that it's probably going to be a stop - you're just trying to get to the rebound and clear everything out. We didn't get to do that, but it's crazy to watch how easy he makes saves and high danger chances look like routine saves to him.
"I played with him in Buffalo and it's been really cool to see the maturity and overall game that he has and to see him blossom here. It's been a lot of fun to watch. He deserves everything. Great guy, great teammate. It's been such a huge part of our season this year."