Slowly but surely, the Sacco-led Bruins are starting to believe
"We know we can still really get better at every aspect. So the sky's the limit for this group.”
The numbers speak for themselves with the Boston Bruins under Joe Sacco.
For all the discourse about the lack of resistance in Boston’s schedule over the last few weeks, Boston has taken care of business following a rudderless start.
Since Sacco has taken the reins on Nov. 19, the Bruins have won seven of their last nine games — including four straight following Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Flyers.
Entering Saturday night, the Bruins are currently third in the Atlantic with a 15-11-3 record — just one point behind both the Maple Leafs and Panthers for the top spot in the division (albeit with three more games played than Toronto).
After an onerous stretch where Boston’s top offensive conduits were fourth-line regulars like Cole Koepke and Mark Kastrelic, some of the Bruins’ key cogs are starting to pull their weight.
Boston’s comeback win was sealed off yet another overtime tally from Pavel Zacha — who has tallied six points (four goals, two assists) in his last six games.
Seconds before Zacha set the game-winning strike with a tenacious board-battle victory against Tyson Foerster, Jeremy Swayman kept his team in the fight with a timely blocker save against Joel Farabee on a breakaway bid.
Trailing 3-1 with 15 minutes left in regulation, Boston received new life off of a pair of tallies from Trent Frederic (his second of the afternoon) and Brad Marchand — who has now lit the lamp six times in his last eight games.
Boston is shoring up its once-porous defensive structure, and the end of some team-wide regression in shooting percentages has paid dividends for a Bruins team that is starting to bank points at a steady clip.
But Saturday’s win over Philly also bolstered an area of the Bruins’ game that can’t be quantified by glancing over the score sheet: belief.
For the first time in a long time, the Bruins are operating with plenty of that on the ice — and the results are following suit.
“I think the belief factor is night and day to what it was at the beginning,” Swayman acknowledged. “Just understanding that every one of us can do a job and finish it the right way. So I think the belief in here is contagious, and it’s definitely elevating our gameplay.
” And again, in situations like tonight, there was no doubt that we were going to push and have a comeback and it was really good to see us get the job done.”
Saturday’s third-period rally stood a welcome about-face from the usual listless play that has plagued Boston in crunch time.
By the time the Bruins cut ties with Jim Montgomery, the Bruins were saddled with the worst third-period goal differential in the NHL at -12.
After Kastelic scored in the third period of Boston’s home opener on Oct. 10, Boston did not find twine in the third period of a game on Causeway Street until Dec. 1 — a span of 52 days.
Boston has now scored four third-period tallies in its last three home games, headlined by Frederic and Marchand’s goals against a rebuilding Philly roster. In the nine games since Sacco has taken over on Boston’s bench, the Bruins boast the fourth-best goal differential in the third period (+5).
“I think we’re believing that we can win those games, even if you don’t have great starts,” Zacha, who also won Tuesday’s game against Detroit in overtime, said. “I think we have a big belief in the third period that we can turn around and we have a heavy team that can out battle teams over three periods.
“I think that’s when we’re starting to see that we can outgrind teams and win these games and come back.”
Positive results on the ice are the most effective kindling when it comes to further sparking the Bruins’ belief amid this mid-season rebound. But beyond securing another two points, the Bruins have found renewed confidence by adhering to a no-frills, physical identity.
After relinquishing five-plus goals in five of their first 20 games, the Bruins have not coughed up more than three tallies in a game since Sacco took over — giving just two goals per contest in their last nine games.
They’ve totaled over 30 hits in three of their last six games — including a 40-14 edge during Tuesday’s win over the Red Wings.
A stronger determinant of whether this team has turned the corner will come next week when Boston heads west for a five-game road trip against the Jets, Kraken, Canucks, Flames, and Oilers.
But for now, the Bruins are doing what they should be doing:
Stacking up points against weaker opponents.
Sticking to an identity.
And most importantly — believing in their game.
“We always knew what we had in here,” Charlie McAvoy said. “It was what our style needed to be. That was a big part of it. Being a physical team, being a bigger team that wants to play fast and wants to use our size. And there were pockets where we weren’t doing that. We were trying to figure out kind of what we were. I think we know what we are now.
“We’ve been playing to our standards with a better standard. And what’s exciting for us is that we’re starting to see results, we’re starting to play better. And we know we can still really get better at every aspect. So the sky’s the limit for this group.”
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