Bruins Storm Back in Return to TD Garden

BOSTON - Bruce Cassidy kept it straightforward - but direct - during the second intermission on Thursday night.
For the sixth straight period - plus almost an entire overtime - the Bruins had been held without a goal and it was far past time to break out of the funk that had dated back to Saturday in New Jersey. The Bruins, he said, were simply far too easy to play against offensively.
"We're a hard team to play against defensively. I think we're willing to play the right way," said Cassidy. "But offensively we're too easy to play against, so we discussed a couple of ways we can get better, harder to play against, in maybe a little more forceful manner so that hopefully the message gets across."
It seems obvious now that Cassidy's troops received the message loud and clear.

Boston erupted for four goals in the third period - one each from Jack Studnicka, Charlie Coyle, Nick Ritchie, and Brandon Carlo - to overcome a two-goal deficit and eventually prevail, 5-4, over the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout thanks to Jake DeBrusk's nifty third-round winner and a stellar performance from Tuukka Rask between the pipes.
"I think at intermission," Studnicka, who kicked off the third-period barrage with his first NHL goal, said of what changed to spark the offense. "I think it had a lot to do with it, prior to my goal. We know we're an offensive group in here, so just trying not to get frustrated and then, obviously, it was fortunate that pucks just started going in."
Studnicka broke the ice just 57 seconds into the third, securing the Bruins' first even strength goal of the season off a spin-around feed from David Krejci to cut the Flyers' lead to 2-1. Despite no fans in the building for their first game on Causeway Street since last March, the Bruins clearly got a boost from the rookie's tally as just 1:09 later, Coyle struck with his own spin-around magic, firing home a Craig Smith rebound from the slot to tie the game.
"I think it was more about us stepping up where we need to be offensively and I think the guys accepted the challenge between periods," said Cassidy. "It would have been nice to hear the fans after the third period…it was an exciting period to watch and got us back in the game and eventually the 2 points. But we do have some experience with that in the bubble last year, we've got to create our own energy."

Ritchie Pots Another

Ritchie has been among Boston's most consistent forwards thus far and has made the most of his new role as the net-front presence on the B's first power play unit. The hulking winger potted his second of the season on the man advantage when he took a Patrice Bergeron feed and wristed one by Philly goalie Carter Hart with 6:38 remaining to tie the game at 3.
"You just want to go out and play the hockey game," said the 6-foot-2, 230-pound winger, who is second on the Bruins with 13 shots on goal this season. "Some of those physical strengths that I do have, I like to use to my advantage but also make plays, go to the net, and shoot the puck."
Ritchie also picked up a secondary assist on Studnicka's opening tally.

Carlo Lets It Fly

The Bruins went on to grab their first lead of the night with 4:42 to play in regulation when Brandon Carlo ripped home a rocket one-timer from the right point off a feed from Matt Grzelcyk. The 24-year-old blue liner has not always been the most frequent shooter but has gradually tried to increase his shot mentality - a mindset that paid off on Thursday night.
"Great play by Grizzy to pull all the forwards to that side," said Carlo. "It was just a clear lane at the net, and I wanted to shoot it as hard as I could. Bared down on that one…was lucky enough to put it behind the goaltender. But it all starts with the forwards on the forecheck and Grizzy making that space available to me.
"That's something we're trying to do is get pucks on net and that's the biggest thing we needed to do in the first two periods. We started to do that in the third and you see the result."
The Flyers answered quickly when James van Riemsdyk notched his second of the night just 1:10 later to tie the game, 4-4, on the power play. It was Philly's second power-play marker of the game as the Flyers went 2 for 5 to snap Boston's 13 for 13 penalty kill streak start to the season.

Rask's Stellar Stops

Rask made 22 stops on the evening and was stellar in the extra session (five saves). The netminder turned away point-blank chances from Jakub Voracek and Kevin Hayes with ease in the overtime and went on to shut down Voracek, Travis Konecny, and Claude Giroux in the shootout.
"The first one, Voracek I saw was all by himself in front of the net. Their D-man shot a floater in there. He made a good play and tried to tip it in my five-hole and the rebound was laying there. I just tried to get extended as much as possible and it kind of hit my glove," said Rask.
"The second one [on Hayes], you see that develop. The guy was kind of slowing down on the wing and Hayesie was driving the net wide and made a good play. I just happened to extend my leg."
The shootout victory was Boston's second in four games this season, a marked improvement on the team's 0-7 record in 2019-20.
"Back and forth, crazy game…it feels good to win those games," said Rask. "If it goes to overtime or the shootout, the goalie is just trying to give the team a chance to win. This year we've won two more than last year all together."

Studnicka's First

With the Bruins down, 2-0, entering the third, they were in desperate need of a spark. And they found it in the form of their rookie winger. Studnicka, playing in just his fifth career game, went hard to the net and deposited his second effort past Hart to pull Boston within a goal just under a minute into the final frame.
"It's obviously a very exciting night for myself," said Studnicka. "Great to get the win that adds onto that. It was a good play by Ritch at the blueline and a really skilled play by Krech to find me there and just put it in the net…I'm playing with a really good centerman in Krech so just trying to get the net, keep my stick on the ice, find some open ice, and most of the time he finds you."
The 21-year-old and 2017 second-round pick said the puck will likely go to either his father or grandfather.
"First junior goal, first NHL game, first NHL point and now this one. This one probably takes the cake," Studnicka said of the special pucks in his collection. "A lot of [people in the] supporting cast that helped me get to this point…a special night regardless of the situation.
"I've seen this team comeback in the third period over the past couple years so many times, so to be a part of that tonight that was really special."

Grzelcyk Roughed Up

For the second straight game, Grzelcyk found himself in the midst of an awkward collision. After leaving Monday's game on Long Island, the blue liner appeared to barely escape a major injury when he tumbled awkwardly into the end boards during the second period as he raced back to retrieve a puck with Flyers forward Scott Laughton on the forecheck.
Grzelcyk's left leg was caught underneath him and the Charlestown native limped to the bench without putting much weight on it. He did not leave the bench and returned to action shortly after, though Cassidy opted to keep the blue liner out of the 3-on-3 overtime session.
"He was playing through some discomfort, so we did not want to expose him," said Cassidy. "He would typically be out there…but he wasn't going to be able to cover the ice that he needed to in overtime. He's had a couple of tough nights now, falling on the Island and going into the boards here so hopefully there's no long-term damage there. It doesn't sound like it."