Bruins Roll Into Holiday Break

BOSTON - The Bruins entered Saturday afternoon's game with the Detroit Red Wings the winners of three straight games, receiving crucial contributions from their young talent in each of those contests.
From Charlie McAvoy's Gordie Howe Hat Trick against Columbus, to his shootout winner against Detroit, to Jake DeBrusk's filthy snipe in Buffalo, Boston's rookies seemed to be garnering much of the attention.

But the Bruins' core of veteran talent made sure to steal some of it back against the Wings. Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, Brad Marchand potted a goal and two assists, while David Pastrnak and David Backes both added two helpers of their own to pace Boston to a 3-1 victory over Detroit at TD Garden.
On the defensive side, Tuukka Rask stopped 30 saves for his eighth win in nine games and Zdeno Chara earned the game's first star for his efforts, which included a sweeping save off the goal line in the second period.

It is that combination of youth and experience that has allowed the Bruins to surge to four straight victories - and 13 wins over their last 17 games - as they head into the holiday break.
"We have talked a lot about the young kids - and rightfully so, they have earned that - but our veterans…they are the guys that were dialed in today, were our leaders," said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. "Younger guys this time of the year, they might look ahead a little bit to the Christmas break, seeing their family. They should be excited about that, but I think that's part of the growing as a pro to make sure you're focused and then start thinking about that at 4 o'clock.
"But, they fell in line, did a good job…but it was definitely our older guys that did the lion's share of the work."

Boston's top line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak - and at times Backes - showed why it has been one of the league's finest this season with a dominating performance from start to finish. With the game tied, 1-1, heading to the third period, the trio combined for what proved to be the deciding tally early in the frame.
After taking a feed from Pastrnak in the neutral zone, Marchand weaved through several Detroit defenders and found Bergeron creeping down the left wing. Marchand delivered a pass under Dylan Larkin's stick with Bergeron one-timing it by Jimmy Howard for a 2-1 lead at 6:11.
"I'm glad they're on our team. That's a matchup I wouldn't want to play against," said Charlie McAvoy. "They're all so skilled, they all think the game very well. They're always in the right position, they're always making plays happen. I think their hockey IQs is what allows them to have the success they have."

Bergeron added an empty-netter, which he scored from his behind after being shoved down to the ice by Niklas Kronwall in the neutral zone with 14 seconds to go, to cap a dominant day, which saw him land six shots on goal and win 15 of his 20 face-off attempts.
"It's because we have a little bit of everything," Marchand, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period, said of the top line's success. "Pasta obviously has a ton of skill and makes a lot of good plays. And Bergy is so good defensively, he creates a ton of turnovers. He's unreal offensively, too, creates opportunities and he can score goals from anywhere.
"We just handle the puck. I think that's our biggest asset - we recover a lot of pucks and get a lot of second opportunities when teams are cheating, so I think that's probably the biggest thing."

In their own end, the Bruins also had plenty of help from Rask, who entered the game with a 1.50 goals against average and .941 save percentage over his previous eight games. Boston's ace netminder continued his torrid stretch by extending his personal points streak to nine games (8-0-1), while stopping 30 of the 31 shots that came his way.
"We are confident. I think we are building. We are trying to trend upwards all the time," said Rask, now 11-8-3 this season. "And the last month I think it's been really good. We've been finding ways to win. We haven't played our best every night but we find ways to win and I think that's the sign of a good team…nowadays we just find ways to get that goal and then take over the game and play solid defense after that. That is a big difference there and I think that has played a huge part in the past month."
After a rocky first month, the Bruins have settled in defensively in front of Rask and, overall, have now allowed two goals or fewer in eight of 11 games this month, including a shutout each from Rask and Anton Khudobin.
"The guys that have been here for years, they have won that way," Cassidy said of his team's defensive play. "All we're trying to do is merge some of the youth and skill and speed of the game - the transition part of it - with the hard to play against identity. They are learning on the fly here the details of the game in these close games."

The Bruins now head into the three-game Christmas break feeling pretty good about their game and with the confidence that on any given night contributions could be coming from anywhere in the lineup.
"I think it's just a group effort every night. Sometimes the veterans will get their chances and will score. Sometimes the young guys get opportunities and we'll score. It's a group effort, we rely on each other," said McAvoy. "It's nice when those guys step up, they're usually stepping up every game, they're very consistent hockey players, they're true pros. I know this young group, this young class, we try every night to contribute and be a part of the culture here.
"I can speak for everybody, we're truly very grateful and fortunate to play with guys like Bergy, Marchand and Zee - guys who have won a Stanley Cup. I learn lessons from them day-in and day-out, on and off the ice and I'm very fortunate."