Moore's Scoring Touch an Added Bonus for Bruins

BOSTON - Dominic Moore has never been known as an offensive savant. He has reached the double-digit goal plateau just three times in his 12-year NHL career - the high-water mark coming in 2010-11, when he potted 18 while playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
So when the Bruins signed the veteran forward at the end of August, the addition was viewed solely as a depth signing.

Moore would provide strong leadership and another veteran presence to the dressing room, while helping to shore up the fourth line. His elite face-off abilities and dependability on the penalty kill, as well as his versatility, were also key factors in general manager Don Sweeney bringing aboard his fellow Harvard alum.
Providing offense was expected to be an occasional added bonus.
Through 22 games, however, Moore's scoring touch has been much more than that. He has already netted six goals - matching his season total from a year ago - and is on pace for 22, which would easily surpass his career-high set in Tampa Bay.

Moore is tied with Brad Marchand for the second-most goals on the Bruins behind David Pastrnak, who leads the way with 13. And his nine points place him tied for fourth on the team behind Marchand, Pastrnak, and David Krejci.
There is no telling whether or not Moore will keep up that level of production, but the Bruins will take it for as long as they can.
"Dom, I think he's at six goals if I'm correct, and that's a lot of goals for a guy that plays mostly fourth line and kills penalties," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "He's a committed player. He's a veteran player. He knows how to play it, and right now things are going well for him. When things go well for you, you continue to hang to it as long as you can.
"He's been a real good contributor for us, especially when you know that we haven't been scoring much. [He] opened the scoring [against Tampa Bay], and, no doubt, probably took a lot of pressure off of our team."
Two of Moore's goals have come on the shorthand (that ties him for the league lead), but it was his even-strength effort against Tampa Bay on Sunday that jumpstarted the Black & Gold.
Moore, who is winning 54.8 percent of his faceoffs this season, won a draw in the offensive zone. Ryan Spooner then corralled the puck along the boards and shoveled a pass to Colin Miller, who backhanded a shot toward the net from the top of the slot.
The puck was batted down, but Moore was there to swat it past Ben Bishop for a 1-0 lead at 2:24 of the second period.

"He plays a hard-nosed game," said fellow fourth-liner Jimmy Hayes, who potted his first goal of the season Sunday. "He gets a lot of pucks in, he wins a lot of faceoffs, and gives you an opportunity to start out with the puck.
"It's been fun playing with him. He's a lot more talented than people see in him. That's his sixth goal of the season so, I mean, he's doing something right here."
With Boston ranked just 24th in the league in scoring (2.36 goals per game), and in an even deeper funk in recent games, the Bruins are thrilled to find goals from any place in the lineup.
"Obviously, we've been struggling to score goals of late," said Moore. "I think every goal is important in any game. We obviously want to start by defending well, but [also] finding ways to create chances, finding ways to find the back of the net. We were fortunate enough to do that [against Tampa Bay]."
It is the little things, though, that have always made Moore such a valuable player. And, for him, those intangibles will continue to be the focus.
"I don't think I'm thinking about that, really, at all," Moore said of being second on the team in goals. "I'm just trying to play my game and help the team. It's fun to contribute as a line and, obviously, [get] a big win for us."