Bruins Notch 50th Win, Become Fastest Team in NHL History to Hit Mark

BOSTON - Garnet Hathaway has not been in town very long.
The veteran forward was acquired from the Washington Capitals just over two weeks ago and has played only seven games in the Black & Gold. It has not been difficult, however, to understand the way in which his new team operates.
They rarely drop consecutive games and have not been held down very long within the course of individual games, either.

As such, the Bruins' early two-goal deficit to the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon - on the heels of a disappointing loss to Edmonton on Thursday - was hardly a doom-and-gloom scenario for the boys donning the Spoked-B.
"That first period didn't go as we planned," said Hathaway. "We came back and we re-grouped, and said, 'Hey, what do we have to do to get better?' Second period, we came out and tied it up, and then [it was], 'How do we win this game?' This team has been pulling it together all year."
The matinee matchup against Detroit was no different as Boston stormed back with a dominant second period to tie the game, before Hathaway delivered the winner late in the third with his first goal as a Bruin to secure a 3-2 victory at TD Garden and cap a stellar performance by the B's fourth line.
"It was great. They deserved everything of it," Patrice Bergeron said of Boston's trio of Hathaway, A.J. Greer, and Tomas Nosek. "They're the ones that got us back in the fight. Their work ethic, throughout the season, ever since Garnet came in as well, the way that they play. But tonight, they were the best line, and they got us going and they got rewarded with a great goal."
Boston's victory was its 50th of the season in just its 64th game, setting a new NHL record. It is the 12th 50-win campaign in Bruins history and second straight (51 wins in 2021-22), the most since hitting the mark four straight seasons from 1970-74.
"It's amazing. I love playing for this team. I love wearing the Bruins logo, especially with the results," said Greer. "It's been an amazing journey so far and we're not really focused on anything right now besides playing the right way for 60 minutes every night and making sure that each and every guy is pushing each other to do our best and stay collective and content with what we have in this locker room to go out there and just play Bruins hockey."

While the Bruins certainly fed off a strong effort from the fourth line, Hathaway credited Bergeron with helping the players reset after Detroit built a two-goal lead (on a shorty at 1:36 and a power-play marker at 4:32) within the game's first five minutes.
"He brought us together," said Hathaway. "He's a great leader, we lean on him a lot and it's a huge testament to how he is and his character, and why you look around this room and you see guys of high character and guys working for each other.
"I think we look at Bergy a lot to say, 'Hey, let's think about the future. What can we control our next shift?' You don't want to be down 2-0 in your building, especially that early, but the game is not over."
It certainly was not, as the Bruins responded with a relentless, dominating second period, during which they outshot Detroit, 18-2, and tied the game on tallies from Hampus Lindholm (12:43) and Bergeron (14:11 on the power play) just 1:28 apart.
"It was just a reset. It's 10 minutes in. There's a lot of time," said Bergeron. "Going back to just being in the moment, forgetting about what was behind us, and look forward and going back to playing our game and playing through our process and our details and that I believed in who we are and what we do."

Fourth Line Shines

Hathaway's goal was a rewarding one given how well the fourth line played throughout the afternoon, as they helped to set the tone for Boston both physically and emotionally. On the winner, the trio chugged through the neutral zone with Nosek finding Greer just inside the Detroit blue line.
Greer then skated in toward the right-wing circle and threw a wrister on Red Wings goalie Magnus Hellberg as Hathaway charged hard to the crease. Hathaway then whacked the puck into the blue paint before quickly tapping it over the goal line to give Boston a 3-2 lead with 6:06 remaining.
"Really deserving," said Montgomery. "I thought they were our best line all night long right from the first shift of the game, where I thought they got us going north. They had a lot of good looks and spent a lot of time in the O-zone despite the fact that I start them in the D-zone a lot of times."
Hathaway felt that the line played to their identity of grinding away the other team, especially at the offensive end of the ice.
"I think we played to the identity that we want to," said Hathaway. "Nosey's been great in the dot for a lot of games now; he was great tonight, too. Greersy gets on every puck and forechecks really well, so we started making plays and then I can feed off that. Our game is moving through the zones, trying to get to the O-zone, and I think we were able to wear them down a bit tonight. Getting a goal for the line was just kind of the cherry on top for us."
Bergeron called the winning tally a "perfect example of great execution" on a 3-on-2 rush.
"I've talked a lot about our depth throughout the lineup," said Bergeron. "I think for them, it's a good example right there. They're extremely hard to play against. They're on the puck. They're on their toes, but they can also make plays…someone drives to the net and gets rewarded for it."
The fourth line also knew its place within a game in which the Bruins did not get off to the greatest start.
"We just told ourselves on the bench, 'Hey, we need to light a spark here and we need to go out there and do something to ignite not only our team, but the crowd,'" said Greer. "I thought we did a great job of hemming the D-men in their own zone. Relentless pressure, physical, and when we play the right way the offensive chances come.
"The puck found us, found our sticks. We got the good bounces, and it was a great play all around for the goal at the end. Hath was just doing his job, going for the net and that's exactly what we need as a fourth line. Just crashing the net and getting those dirty goals."

Powered Up

Bergeron's power-play tally was the B's first on the man advantage since March 2 vs. Buffalo. Since Feb. 1, Boston's power play ranks 25th in the NHL (14%).
"I think we started moving the puck, and our support was a lot quicker," said Montgomery, whose club went 1 for 4 on the PP. "We found the bumper a lot more, and the bumper allowed us to move pucks to the elbows or up top or down low."
The play began to develop when Dmitry Orlov - moved to the top unit ahead of Thursday's game against Edmonton - sent a feed over to Jake DeBrusk at the top of the left-wing circle. DeBrusk took a few steps toward the net, drawing a defender away from Bergeron, who then had space to redirect DeBrusk's feed by Hellberg from the bumper to tie things, 2-2, with 5:49 left in the second.
"I think it was just a simple play. Attacking the inside with Jake, coming in, coming down on his off side, taking what's there, faking the shot. A great play by him," said Bergeron, whose tally was the 130th power-play goal of his career, moving him past Cam Neely for sole possession of fourth place on the B's all-time list.
"I think we had a couple looks there on good shots and good one-timers and whatnot. He made some great saves, but I think our overall was just simplifying what we wanted to do."

Wait, There's More

• Per NHL Stats, Dmitry Orlov (3-7-10 in 7 GP) became the fastest defenseman in Bruins history to hit 10 points with the club ahead of Al Iafrate (4-7-11 in 11 GP, 1993-94); Brad Park (3-8-11 in 11 GP, 1975-76), and Irv Spencer (3-7-10 in 11 GP, 1962-63).
• Linus Ullmark (29 saves) is now 33-4-1 in 40 games this season. Per NHL Stats, the 33 wins are the second most by a goalie through 40 games in NHL history, behind the B's Tiny Thompson (35-4-1 in 40 GP, 1929-30).