Only a few NHL teams have started the season 2-0, and the Boston Bruins are one of them.
Coming off a 3-1 road upset of the Washington Capitals in their season opener on Wednesday, the Bruins returned to Boston for their home opener in front of a packed TD Garden on Thursday.
The Bruins drew an easier assignment for their second game in the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, who were one of the worst teams in the NHL last year and were coming off a 3-2 road loss to the Florida Panthers in their season opener.
While David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman led the way for Boston on Wednesday, different players stepped up on Thursday.
The Bruins battled back and forth for the entire game, with both sides scoring one goal in each period. That sent the game to overtime, where Boston prevailed 4-3 on Fraser Minten’s game-winner past Arvid Soderblom with 2:48 left in OT.
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Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm and Tanner Jeannot also scored for the Bruins, with Lindholm netting his second goal of the season. Joonas Korpisalo was solid in his season debut, saving 21 of 24 shot attempts and buckling down during crunch time.
Boston outplayed the Blackhawks in almost every facet, outshooting them 33-24 and winning 58.5 percent of the face-offs. The better team won.
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The Bruins continue their homestand this weekend against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday before hitting the road next week. They’ll try to stay hot and build on their 2-0 start.
