Down by two through 40 minutes of play Saturday afternoon at TD Garden, the Bruins deserved better than what they had to show for their efforts.
From the pair of breakdowns in the first period that led to two Philly goals to a Cam York shot that ruined an otherwise strong second-period effort from Jeremy Swayman, the B’s deserved better, and there was a definite element of “this one still feels winnable” if you were looking closely.
That, of course, means nothing without a push in the third and final period, and though it took a little bit longer than the Bruins would’ve preferred (Philly nearly made it 4-1 in the opening minutes of the third frame), that came in the third period and overtime to deliver Boston a 4-3 overtime win over the Flyers.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 7-2-0 since making the change from Jim Montgomery to Joe Sacco, while Saturday was their first Sacco-led win when trailing after 40 minutes.
Third Star: Pavel Zacha
Dec 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA;Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) celebrates after scoring the game winning goal in overtime on Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov (35) at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)
If you’ve followed this space or if you’ve listened to The Sports Hub Underground at all, you probably know that this is a space where we will always believe that Pavel Zacha Should Shoot The Puck More. It’s probably one of our core beliefs at this point, to be honest. A mission statement, at the very least. And on Saturday, Zacha did indeed shoot the puck for the game-winning overtime goal (his second in the last three games), but it was the board battle Zacha was engaged in in the moments that led to his goal that proved to be the difference maker in this one.
The kick out to Pastrnak is perhaps a bit more subtle than your average board battle victory, but to fend off two Flyers and maintain possession? Those are the little details that the Bruins have talked about again and again.
Zacha, meanwhile, is up to four goals and six points in his last six outings, with three game-winning strikes over that span. As a team, the Bruins are now 6-1-1 this season when Zacha records at least one point in a game.
Second Star: Matvei Michkov
Dec 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov (39) is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)
If we’re talking about efficiency in today’s game, we’re talking about the Flyers’ Matvei Michkov.
Deployed for 14:25, Michkov finished this game with two goals on two shots, and even drew a penalty against the Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy late in the second period, which was an important penalty in the sense that it came moments after Philly’s goal to go up by two and in a game where McAvoy looked downright dominant at times.
With the goals, Michkov became the first rookie in the NHL this season to hit the 10-goal mark, and has now recorded multi-point games in three consecutive games. Per NHL Stats, Michkov joins Eric Lindros (three times in 1992-93) and Peter Zezel (twice in 1984-85) as the only Flyers teenagers to do so in three consecutive games.
He’s the real deal, and this is just the start.
First Star: Trent Frederic
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 03: Trent Frederic #11 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the first period of the game against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden on December 03, 2024. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
There’s been an awful lot of chatter in regards to Trent Frederic this season.
Staring down a potential jump into unrestricted free agency next summer, Frederic remains a player whose game is still on somewhat uneven footing this season. He’s been better of late, particularly from an offensive standpoint, but even so, there’s a lot of ground to be made up when talking about a player who scored 17 goals in 2022-23 and 18 goals and 40 points (both career-highs) last season. And Saturday came with a step forward there, as Frederic scored two goals, including one on the man advantage, in the comeback victory.
With the two-goal outing, Frederic is now up to five goals on the season (all five of his goals have come in just three games in total), and the 6-foot-3 wing also paced the Bruins with a team-leading four shots and seven hits.
The Bruins need more of that from No. 11.
