Minten Logs Three Points in Boston’s 5-1 Win Over Philadelphia

BOSTON –– Fraser Minten walked in front of his stall to address the media on Saturday afternoon, dressed in a new outfit.

The forward debuted a t-shirt which read “Slim Jim Hagens,” a nod to his teammate James Hagens.

“We always get some funny shirts sent to us,” Minten said with a laugh. “So I thought I’d put this one on.”  

Spirits were high for the 22-year-old, who just posted three points (one goal, two assists) in the Boston Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.

After signing a seven-year extension with the B’s in September, Minten has gotten off to a hot start with five points (two goals, three assists) through six games. He is second on the Bruins in points, trailing only David Pastrnak.​

“I don’t know where to start. He feels more comfortable; I feel like he has more power in his legs, he skates better. There’s just a combination, I would say, of everything; I can’t really pick one thing. It’s just overall, he was almost like a baby last year, and now he’s growing into a grown man,” head coach Marco Sturm said of Minten. “One year – it makes a huge, huge difference. It’s great to see the way he played today; even the last little while here, it’s been great.”

Minten’s third-period assist and tally sealed what was another dominant showing for the Bruins on home ice. The first line of David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie kickstarted the group to start.

Zacha put the Bruins ahead 1-0 at 12:21 of the first period after he forced a Philadelphia turnover at the offensive blue line. Pastrnak scooped up the loose puck and drop-passed it to Zacha in the slot for him to wrist past Flyers netminder Dan Vladar.  

“That sets the tone, I really believe, for everyone else. I thought today, everyone had their legs. We came out with a really good jump,” Sturm said. “Our goal was to come out and really play our game right away; as soon as possible. And it really helps when the big boys do that too right from the start. Everyone else followed pretty much – it was nice to see.”

It was Zacha’s first goal of the season, and marked Pastrnak's fifth point in two games.

“That’s the goal, I think, for every player – try to be a difference-maker every shift,” Zacha said. “It felt good going over the boards and knowing that we were going to create something every shift. We have to keep doing that. It’s fun playing that way.”

The Bruins doubled their advantage thanks to Mason Lohrei – his second goal in two games – at 17:12 of the middle frame. The second line of Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov and JJ Peterka jetted up ice, and Lohrei followed the rush, wiring home the pass from Peterka for the 2-0 lead. It was Peterka’s 200th career NHL point.

​“Most of the game, I am just trying to get above whoever was forechecking me. Sometimes the opportunity presents itself to get above that guy and find that fourth-man’s ice. I felt the guy behind me when we were standing in front of our own net, so I just tried to get up ice,” Lohrei said. “I feel like I’m at my best when I am playing with confidence. It’s something that I try to do, and I’ve been feeling pretty good. Just continue to try to do that.”

Minten opened the third period with his second helper of the afternoon. Will Borgen sent the puck down the wall to Minten behind the Flyers’ net, where he found Khusnutdinov in front for the one-timer at 1:55. Khusnutdinov’s first goal of the year made it 3-0

“We play a lot [together]. We try to talk a lot,” Khusnutdinov said of skating with Minten. “I feel [comfortable]. He does a lot of job in the d-zone, and I’m still fresh a lot of the time.”

Porter Martone got Philadelphia on the board, 3-1, while on the power play at 6:30, but the B’s swiftly responded just under three minutes later to regain the three-goal gap. Casey Mittelstadt buried his second of the season off a pretty tic-tac-toe setup from his linemates, Elias Lindholm and Hagens. Or Slim Jim.

“You have the puck a lot, and you’re making stuff happen; you don’t want to fall into the trap of getting too cute or overcomplicating it,” Minten said. “With just one goal, it can change super fast. Good that we were able to build on that lead and keep it going."

Minten’s third point of the matchup, and second goal of the year, pushed it to 5-1. Peterka slipped the puck over to Minten, who dashed through the neutral zone and straight to the Flyers’ net, tucking it past Vladar at 15:59. It was Peterka’s second assist of the game, too, and brought the contest to its final scoreline.

The Bruins now leave for a four-game road trip, during which they’ll face the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars.