3 Stars: B’s defense continues to make impact at both ends

Jim Montgomery’s Bruins team continues to win in different ways.

On the board with wins in 14 of their opening 16 games of the season, Montgomery is quick to credit the Bruins’ attitudes over the X’s and O’s of the coaching tweaks. He’s also beaming every time the Bruins take the ice at TD Garden, with Sunday’s win over the victory improving the Bruins to 9-0-0 on Boston ice out of the gate.

But Sunday’s win followed a similar formula for the Bruins, as they got contributions at both ends of the rink, headlined by another strong effort from the blue line.

Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars of the game from a win over the Canucks...

No. 3 Star: Tomas Nosek

Nov 13, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Tomas Nosek (92) fights Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kyle Burroughs (44) during the first period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

What Tomas Nosek did in the first period of Sunday’s contest was not lost on his teammates.

With David Pastrnak tagged with a heavy hit from Canucks defenseman Kyle Burroughs, Nosek dropped everything he was doing and flew in at Burroughs for a fight. It was the first fight of Nosek’s career, and while it wasn’t exactly in-prime Mike Tyson, the fact that he was willing said it all.

“He’s my friend, he’s my teammate, and he’s our star,” Nosek said of the decision to drop the gloves in defense of Pastrnak. “That’s what makes us a good team, I think. Step up and play for each other.

“I was there, so I did the job.”

Nosek also put an end to what was a massive goal drought, as his long-range empty-net dagger ended what was a 65-game goalless drought for the Czech center.

No. 2 Star: Connor Clifton

Nov 13, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton (75) controls against Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat (53) during the second period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

We spent all offseason talking about who would benefit the most from a coaching change, and rarely if ever did we bring up defenseman Connor Clifton. But Clifton has not only established his hold on a full-time roster spot under Montgomery, but he’s also taken his game to what is absolutely its highest level since turning pro.

Out there for 18:50 of time on ice, Clifton opened the scoring for Boston with his second goal of the season (and his second goal in the last three games), and added an assist. Clifton also racked up three shots on goal, four hits, and a blocked shot, and logged just under three minutes of shorthanded time on ice.

No. 1 Star: Hampus Lindholm

Nov 13, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) takes a shot in front of Vancouver Canucks center Nils Aman (88) during the first period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

Perhaps the best development of all for the Bruins this season? The return of Charlie McAvoy has not slowed down the white-hot start to the season for Hampus Lindholm.

Sunday was just the latest example of that, as Lindholm put forth yet another three-point night, with three helpers in almost 23 minutes of work in the victory. Lindholm nearly had a beauty of a goal with one of his six shots on goal in the winning effort, also added a plus-3 rating, and two blocks to his stat line.

With the three-point night, Lindholm is now up to 17 points on the year, which is tied for the third-most in the NHL among defensemen, with only Adam Fox and Erik Karlsson ahead of him. Lindholm’s 13 assists, meanwhile, are tied with the Avs’ Cale Makar for the fourth-most among defenders, while Lindholm’s plus-18 rating is currently tops among all NHL skaters.