Big week earns Bruins center Pavel Zacha nod from NHL

A strong week from the Bruins' Pavel Zacha did not go unnoticed from the NHL offices on Monday, with Zacha named the NHL Second Star of the Week for the week ending Mar. 10.

In action for four games, Zacha posted five goals and added two assists, while the Bruins posted a 3-0-1 record.

Zacha's big week began with last Monday's two-goal outing against the Maple Leafs, which included Zacha credited with the game-winning goal in a 4-1 final, along with wins in seven of his 13 battles at the dot.

Zacha continued that run the very next night, when he scored the only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Oilers, and then recorded an assist in Boston's final home win over the Leafs just two nights.

But Zacha's best outing of the week came in his last, as the 6-foot-4 center put up two goals and added an assist in 18:18 against the Penguins last Saturday at TD Garden. Going up against the best faceoff team in the league, Zacha also collected wins in nine of his faceoffs, with that 60 percent success rate sticking out at his best effort at the dot since a 69.2% success rate on Feb. 29.

First Star of the Week honors went to the Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, who posted three goals and 10 points in three games played, while Vancouver netminder Thatcher Demko was the Third Star of the Week with a 3-0-0 record.

And though Zacha has an outside shot of matching last year's career-best point total of 57 (Zacha is at 43 points with 16 games to go), he does have a solid chance of matching last year's career-high goal total of 21, as he's just four strikes away from matching it (and five away from breaking it).

With everything being relative, a 38-of-39 winning performance Saturday afternoon against the Penguins at TD Garden was the easy part of the week for Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark.

In fact, this week was unlike anything the third-year Bruin has experienced, as Ullmark found himself front and center when it came to trade rumors ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline. These were not fan-created polls and rumblings, either, as there seemed to be a legitimate chance for the Bruins to move on from the 30-year-old. It even hit the point where Ullmark reportedly invoked his 16-team no-trade list to nix a trade that would've sent him to Los Angeles prior to Friday's 3 p.m. deadline.

Speaking after Saturday's win, Ullmark opted not to outright confirm or deny that report, but made it clear where he stands (and wants to stand) when it comes to being in Boston and with the Bruins.

"I'm just very happy to be here," Ullmark said when asked about his no-trade clause wiping a would-be trade off the board. "This is the team that I want to be on. I'm very fortunate to be a part of this group. And, you know, ever since day one, I've loved it here. So I'm very happy with where I am right now."

Ullmark's decision to neither confirm nor deny the report is a mere continuation of Bruins general manager Don Sweeney's decision to do the same on Friday, though that's not exactly out of character for Sweeney.

In what's become an unofficial club policy of sorts, often citing the human part of this game, Sweeney almost always opts to keep every single bit of information in house when it comes to any non-moves made by his club.

But like with Sweeney, there is an answer within Ullmark's answers, especially when he talked openly about how much of a relief it was to see the 3 p.m. trade deadline come and go yesterday.

"Oh thank God, yes," Ullmark admitted when he was asked if he's happy to be done with the trade deadline season. "It's tough. I mean, you try to act tough beforehand. You know, you don't want to show anything [and] you don't want to show any emotion. It's kind of like [when you're] in a playoff situation as well. But it is tough on players.

"And this is the first time when I've had to go through actually being rumored about. I've always felt safe, you know? But then once it actually starts picking up more and more and more, you hear those outside noises. It takes a toll on you. And then there's this emotional part of it, and then you start thinking about your family, and then there's all these questions that you just don't have any answers to. So I am very happy that it's over with, and I'm very glad and happy to be here."

But while there was nothing to be done to cure his anxiety leading up to the deadline, Ullmark revealed that he did have some strong support in his corner throughout the process.

"I had a good conversation with [Patrice Bergeron] the other day, so that really helped me," Ullmark, whose last win before Saturday came all the way back on Feb. 9, revealed. "And [Charlie McAvoy] reached out to me yesterday as well with a very thought out text that really hit home. And it kind of just shows what kind of a group and what kind of people there is on this team. So I was very happy and emotional after I read [that text]."

This was more than just lip service, too.

The overwhelming vibe out of the Boston room on Saturday was that the Bruins were overjoyed that Ullmark is still on their club, and that the Bruins opted not to split up their one-two punch with Ullmark opposite Jeremy Swayman.

The importance and the depth of that relationship has been made clear again and again, and Saturday was no exception, with a post-victory celebration that saw Swayman motion at Ullmark and then the ice, as if to say "you're still here." Their traditional post-win hug was a bit longer than usual, too, and Ullmark's ovation from the Garden crowd after being named the No. 1 star of the game felt like a louder pop than usual.

"Well, there's no easy games, but there's some games you're going to take with you a little bit longer, obviously, and you're going to keep it in a little bit of the memory bank and you can pull it out from time to time, so same thing there," Ullmark offered. "You know, I got emotional as well when Sway said all these nice words to me and, I would have done the same for him if he was in my shoes. And, you know, it's tough to talk about, but like I said, I'm just so gosh darn happy."

As for any added motivation that can come out of a near-trade, Ullmark thinks that the noise is nothing new to him, and that's simply about returning to the level that became his norm during a 2022-23 that earned him a Vezina Trophy.

"I think I proved what kind of a goaltender I can be last year, definitely," Ullmark said. "There's there's been some ups and downs, obviously, during the season and during this time of period as well. I don't think that I've personally played bad with all the outside noise, which I've been very proud of myself to keep battling through and performing."

And battling for the team he has no interest in leaving.

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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.