Bruins Make History, Become Fastest Team to 100 Points

BOSTON - Jim Montgomery could sense his club was in a good spot.
After just a few shifts, Boston's bench boss can generally tell where the Black & Gold's game is at - and on Thursday night, he had no concerns.

"It was really impressive," said Montgomery. "Right away, from the first couple of shifts, I saw the jump we had and the execution, and I was like, 'we are going to be good tonight.' And you could just tell. We just had it."
Had it, indeed.
Despite the old adage of the first home game after a long road trip being a challenge - and the chaotic nature of a day that saw David Pastrnak sign an eight-year extension and the B's acquire veteran forward Tyler Bertuzzi via trade - the Bruins poured it on.
Boston scored five times in the third period en route to a 7-1 thumping of the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden. The victory improved the Bruins to 48-8-5 and pushed them to 101 points through 61 games, making them the fastest team in NHL history to hit that 100-point plateau.
"For me, personally, it doesn't mean that much," said Montgomery, whose club had 12 players register a point. "We've been saying, we try and stay in the moment, and we've been doing that. We started off 11-1 and I was like, 'Man, that is unreal,' and then you catch yourself, you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have.
"It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great. With the schedule and everything, it's really impressive, but you can't do it unless you have two great goalies, you have a D corps that can shut people down and can help you score, and you've got four lines that help you every night.
"I don't think [Bruins GM] Don Sweeney gets enough credit."

Orlov Stays Red Hot

Dmitry Orlov is off to quite a start in Black & Gold. The veteran blue liner's torrid stretch continued against Buffalo as he notched a goal and two assists, giving him eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games with Boston - the third-most points through four games with a franchise in NHL history by a defenseman, behind Harry Cameron (14) and Sergei Zubov (9), per NHL Stats.
In Bruins history, Orlov is the third player with eight or more points in their first four games with Boston (Fred Stanfield: 11 points in 1967-68; Dimitri Kvartalnov: eight in 1992-93).
"I don't know. I have no answer," Orlov said when asked why he's fit in so well. "It's a good team, and they always try to find the plays, try to play for each other and try to create. It's important in this league. If you have a lot of skill, you have to make plays. Sometimes it works. Every time I played with the Caps against Boston, it's a tough team to play, and I'm happy to be here."
Orlov has registered three straight multi-point games and two straight three-point outings. With his first helper against the Sabres, the defenseman also notched his 200th career assist.
"Obviously, the offense has been great," said Montgomery. "I think he has three goals, which matches the three goals he had in Washington before getting here, but he ends plays in the D-zone. He's heavy, he's hard, and he has elite vision and hands. It was just a great pickup. Him, [Garnet] Hathaway and we've got another one [in Bertuzzi] coming that is a really good hockey player."
Orlov was also thrilled to notch his first goal - and get his first win - in the Spoked-B in front of the home crowd at TD Garden.
"It's awesome, you always feel the fans' love, like all of the sports in Boston," said Orlov. "It means a lot. It's been a long week. A lot of emotions. Thanks to Washington's general manager [Brian MacLellan] trading me to Boston. It's a great team. That's why they're in first place right now. I'm happy to be here and just try to do my best every game and have a chance to play every game like it's my last game and bring everything and enjoy it.
"Great inside team, you can see how close they are in the locker room, in life, and outside the rink. It's special to be here, and we're playing good hockey right now, and especially today."

Lauko Pots a Pair

Jakub Lauko secured the first two-goal game of his career, potting a rebound off a Brandon Carlo wrister at 6:33 of the second to extend the B's lead to 2-1, before capping the scoring when he buried another rebound, this time off a Charlie Coyle attempt with 52 seconds remaining to make it 7-1.
"He's been very good for us every game he has been called up since the first game of the year," said Montgomery. "And I think it speaks to the season and the development by the coaches and everybody down below in Providence. They're having a great year and it just speaks to the depth throughout the organization."
With Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno both sidelined by injuries for extended periods, that depth - especially on the left side - is being tested. Fortunately for Boston, Lauko has been able to step in seamlessly each time he's been called upon this season.
"I was trying to do my best and trying to play my best performance so far. I think I did," said Lauko, who now has three goals on the season. "I'm not the kind of player who's going to score 30 goals a season, so my job is different. The goals are just something that's adding to my game. So, happy that it happened. I just need to keep doing my job."
Lauko acknowledged that it can be challenging to come into a team that is having so much success after only being around for short stints at various points of the season.
"They have an amazing streak. They have an amazing season," said Lauko. "You just come in and you don't want to, like, mess it up. So, it's a little bit of pressure every time when I jump in, but I think this was the first game when I was completely…I just played my game."

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