Bergeron's Message Helps Bruins Bear Down in Third

BOSTON - Jim Montgomery leaned over to Patrice Bergeron as time ticked away in the second period and told the Boston captain that the dressing room was his during the intermission.
Boston's bench boss had said his piece after the first period - to no avail.
As such, Montgomery felt that Bergeron - who was honored with a pregame ceremony for his 1,000th career point on Saturday afternoon - would be better suited on this day to address the club ahead of the final frame.

"Never mind the Hall of Fame player he is, he's a Hall of Fame person and leader - so much so that after the first I was not happy with our team, and I was not very happy in between the periods when I addressed the team," Montgomery recalled. "Second period, no impact, so I said to Bergy with 40 seconds left in the second, I said, 'It's your dressing room.'
"We came out and played our best period of the game, and that just speaks volumes of…it's how much I trust him, and it's how much the players listen to him."
After Bergeron's message to the club, the Bruins extended their one-goal lead entering the final frame to three following goals from Taylor Hall (12:41) and Tomas Nosek (13:00) within a 19-second span of the third period. Boston then held on for a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden, a marked improvement over the last two games, which saw the Bruins squander leads heading into the third period.
"It was really important," Bergeron said of the B's response. "When you're playing good teams and you let them hang around, they're gonna find a way, and then that's where trouble starts. When you're able to get that next goal, the extra goal, that's when you kind of get that momentum, or you take the wind out of their sails.
"I think that's kind of how we approached it, is trying to find a way to get that next goal. We say it right away. That fourth [one] was huge for us. To go up by three…it was an easier end of a game after that."

Nevertheless, Montgomery is still not overly pleased with his club's showing during the homestand (2-0-1), saying bluntly that "I don't think we're playing very good hockey."
"We're not," he said. "I don't think we're checking well enough. I don't think we're playing fast enough with or without the puck, and it's leading to us spending more time in our end, leading to us getting on the wrong side of pucks, so we're taking a lot of stick infractions, especially in the offensive zone where our forwards have been very good all year with being over top of people who are not there right now. That's leading to us leaking oil a little bit in how we want to play."
Bergeron believes that given how well the Bruins have begun the season (24-4-2), there are positives to take from having things to work on. Striving to be better, he explained, is a good thing for a team during the course of a long regular season.
"There are definitely some things that we have to get better at. I think that's a good thing to have," said Bergeron. "Not being satisfied and knowing that there's more to give, it's always a good thing. I think that when you get complacent, that's when trouble happens. I think for us, we're a great team, but a team that needs to rely on everyone and needs to rely on details and our depth.
"I think that those quick reminders are important and keep harping on it. It's not gonna be perfect, and you're not always gonna get your A-game, but that being said, we can always bring our B-game every night. We know that teams gonna be ready to play us.
"You look at the standings, and we're up there, and that's just the next challenge on our list now, is teams are gonna prepare differently for us and expect a great game. I think it's just about realizing that and taking that challenge head-on."

Some Satur-Sway Success

Jeremy Swayman nearly made Bruins history - and NHL history, for that matter.
Only 12 goalies in league lore have scored goals, and with time ticking down in the third period, Swayman had a clear shot at becoming the 13th. With the Columbus net empty, Swayman collected the puck beside his net and fired a wrister the length of the ice with the shot just trickling wide of the right post.
"I want to score so bad, man. It will happen, it will," said Swayman. "I've tried a lot of times, haven't made it past the red yet, so that was cool."
While Swayman came inches away from a moment to remember, his most important work came between the pipes as he rebounded from a loss in Arizona last weekend with a 31-save triumph on Saturday afternoon.
"I was pumped...that was a heads-up play," Hall said of the empty-net attempt. "That would have been awesome to see to cap off a really good night for him. He needed that and he was strong for us when we needed him. We weren't our best, but Sway was our best player back there."
Montgomery concurred as he complimented Swayman for his confidence.
"I thought he was our best player, and I think he needed to be," said Montgomery. "Very confident. Very confident in his movements…mentally, when a goalie is on top, he is taking whistles at the right moments, tries to go for that empty net goal - that's a sign of someone that the game is going slow for, which is what you want mentally.
"As we know, he is an elite goaltender in this league…and everybody has those moments in their career where things aren't going well, and that's what makes you better. He's going to come out of what that small little hiccup there, and he's going to be better for it.
"Everybody needs adversity, whether it's life or it's in sports especially. It makes you better."
Swayman, who had not played in eight days, said he used the week of downtime to improve on "everything."
"Skating, obviously, getting to my position, working on hands, rebound control, box, crease containment, all of the above, tip pucks, read tips," said Swayman. "It's what we do every week. You have a good game, you work hard, you get better. If you have a bad game you work hard, you get better.
"That's something I've been doing this year. It's been ups and downs and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for the ups and downs I've had and the learning lessons I've had early on."
The third-year netminder acknowledged that he has had to adjust to not playing as frequently given how well partner Linus Ullmark has played to start the season, though he has tried to use that challenge to his advantage.
"That's a good question. It's different. I've been used to getting in rotation, but again I'm grateful for the adversity coming my way early on," said Swayman, who was wearing his new vintage-style Winter Classic pads for the first time.
"Just learning from it and how to battle through games, battle through tough times and not getting the start for a couple days. That's just something I want to make sure I'm staying in the moment with, keeping a good attitude mentally, physically, and just keep working no matter what - good game, bad game, it doesn't matter, I want to have that same, steady consistent attitude."

Cheers to the Captain

Before the game, Bergeron was feted for reaching the 1,000-career point milestone earlier this season. The B's captain was joined by his wife Stephanie and children, Zack, Victoria, and Noah during the ceremony, which also featured presentations from his teammates and Bruins management.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney presented the customary golden stick, while Bruins president Cam Neely presented a check for $37,000 on behalf of the Jacobs family and Boston Bruins Foundation to be donated to a charity of Bergeron's choice. B's legend Johnny Bucyk presented a Tiffany crystal on behalf of the NHL and teammates Brad Marchand and David Krejci gifted Bergeron a custom Rolex watch and bottle of Don Perignon champagne.
The ceremony also included a highlight video recapping some of Bergeron's most memorable regular-season points, and messages from Phil Esposito, Bucyk, and Ray Bourque, the other three Bruins to reach the 1,000-point mark with the club.
Before the game, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker met with Bergeron to present him with a proclamation declaring December 17, 2022, "Patrice Bergeron Day" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
"It was special. It means a lot," said Bergeron. "I've been around for a long time. And this city, playing in front of these fans, I'm appreciative of all the support I've had over the years from them. It was a nice moment. I was happy to share that with my family and my teammates as well. They're a big part of how I was able to accomplish the milestone. Again, I'm very thankful for all of them and, obviously, to the fans as well."

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