Halak makes 35 saves, Bruins spoil Coyotes home opener

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves, and the Boston Bruins won their 15th straight game against the Arizona Coyotes with a 1-0 victory at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Brad Marchand scored for Boston, which has won its first two games of the season. The Bruins haven't lost to Arizona since Oct. 9, 2010, the longest current streak against one opponent in the NHL.
The Coyotes, who were shut out in their home opener despite having 10 of the game's first 11 shots, have scored one goal in two games; they lost 2-1 at the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
"If you get tested early on, you know, you stay focused more and that's what happened," Halak said of getting pressured early in the game. "We kind of gave them a little bit more than we wanted to, but we were working on getting back and not giving them any second chances."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Coyotes highlights]
Halak is 10-3-2 with two shutouts in 15 games against Arizona. The shutout was the 48th of his NHL career.
"I thought he was unreal," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We did everything right except score."
Marchand scored at 18:41 of the first. Patrice Bergeron won a puck battle along the boards and made a backhand pass to the left circle, where Marchand put a wrist shot past Darcy Kuemper (24 saves).
"I didn't see anything. I just tried to get it on net, and it found its way," Marchand said.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said he liked how his top line of Marchand, Bergeron and David Pastrnak played in generating nine of Boston's 25 shots.
"Our top line was much better than they were in [a 2-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday] in terms of generating offense," Cassidy said. "We just have some offensive issues right now. But I think our commitment to winning is playing the right way when we're ahead late. We didn't do anything to hurt ourselves."

Marchand, who has 11 goals in 16 games against the Coyotes, had a chance to make it 2-0 midway through the second period, but Kuemper saved his rebound attempt after a shot by Pastrnak.
"We didn't give Boston much, and that's a Stanley Cup finalist," Tocchet said. "But there's no moral victories. It's a hard game. We need another inch from some guys, but for the most part, the team effort was there. … We had some odd-man rushes and breakaways and we have to put them in."
Halak started after Tuukka Rask made 28 saves against Dallas.
"We have two good goalies, two good pros," Cassidy said. "And we've needed it. We haven't been as clean as we wanted to be. But these guys have been sharp."

They said it

"We're a little rusty. All the way around, it wasn't our best game. … All that matters at this time of the year is you've got to continue to improve. It's a process. You're not going to win the (Stanley) Cup and make playoffs first two games of the year. We're focused on wanting to be good every night." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand
"The effort's there. We've got to keep pushing each other. It's not easy to score in this league. Play like that most nights, you're going to win. Give their goaltender some credit, he made some big-time saves." -- Coyotes center Derek Stepan

Need to know

Boston tied its team record of 15 consecutive wins against one opponent, originally set against the Philadelphia Flyers from 1970-72. … Bruins forward David Krejci played 15:57 after missing their opener because of a lower-body injury. … Coyotes forward Phil Kessel, traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 29, had multiple scoring attempts in the third period and had five shots in his first home game with Arizona. He played in his 776th consecutive game, tying Craig Ramsay for seventh place on the NHL's all-time list. … Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski played in his 800th NHL game.

What's next

Bruins: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, NESN, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)