Talking Points from the Bruins 3-0 win over the Ducks

Here are my talking points from an excellent shutout win by the Bruins in Anaheim:

GOLD STAR: Excellent game for Jaroslav Halak, who made 30 saves for the Bruins, including a big stop toward the end of the first period where Torey Krug had thrown a blind pass to Max Jones right in the slot area. Jones got off a point blank shot at the Boston net, but Halak stood tall to turn away the premium scoring chance. He was just as good in the second period as he was in the first, with 11 shots against him in each of those periods, and then the Bruins cruised in the third period for the shutout win over Anaheim. Halak hasn’t been great over the last six weeks or so, but he was very good toward the end of the period as the B’s struggled a little bit.

BLACK EYE: A tough night for Adam Henrique, who was a minus-2 in 14:55 of ice time and had just a couple of shots on net in a generally ineffective performance overall. He was also 3-for-10 in the face-off circle as the Ducks forward really didn’t play well in any facet of the game, and instead looked like a Ducks hockey club that’s starting to mail in games given how far they are outside of a playoff spot. He certainly wasn’t alone on the Anaheim roster, though, as they really didn’t muster much in the way of offense while getting shut down offensively by the Bruins.

TURNING POINT: The Bruins simply needed to get off to a good start against the Ducks to get ahead and really discourage a team that’s in a bit of disarray. That’s exactly what the Bruins did when Noel Acciari jumped in front of the net to tip home a Brandon Carlo one-timer blast from the point, and continued when they scored a goal in each of the next two periods while big offensive players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand were kept off the scores sheet. It’s always a big deal when the B’s can find a way to scratch out some secondary offense, and that’s exactly what they did against the mighty Ducks on Friday night.

HONORABLE MENTION: Give it to Noel Acciari, who finished with three shots on net and three registered hits in his 14:55 of ice time. Acciari played heavy and physical against a big, strong and heavy Anaheim group, and he also filled in with the offensive side of things as well. He slid in front of the net as Brandon Carlo was winding up and blasting from the point, and his tipped puck got the Bruins ahead for good early in the game. Acciari was also a plus-2 rating and part of a Bruins fourth line that kicked in a pair of goals in the road win when you consider Chris Wagner’s empty net score in the final periods as well.

BY THE NUMBERS: 15-for-18 – Patrice Bergeron didn’t really factor into the scoring so much in Friday’s win over the Ducks, but he was a dominant 15-for-18 in the face-off circle as he did his part for Boston to dominate puck possession.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “You prepare to win every game, but you want to play your best hockey as you go along. It’s just a matter of consistency coming around. We’re starting to see our health coming around, so you can play the same groups every night and they’re getting a feel for one another.” –Bruce Cassidy to NESN on a Bruins team that’s starting to play some pretty strong hockey.