The Boston Bruins stormed back on Friday night to steal the game from the Anaheim Ducks in a thriller. Bruins head coach Marco Sturm revealed how it occurred.
Per NHL.com’s Dan Arritt, Sturm said of the Ducks, “They came out pretty hard. They had a lot of juice the first half of the game. But also knowing, as a young team, it’s tough to keep that tempo up for 60 minutes, and I was just hoping that they were going to slow down, and I think that’s what happened.”
It was the second time in as many games that the Ducks blew a lead as the matchup wore on. In Tuesday’s loss to the Calgary Flames, Anaheim led by a goal until Aydar Suniev tied it at the 8:02 mark of the second period. Calgary scored two more times to notch its first win of the season.
On Friday, the Ducks jumped out to a two-goal lead, and Boston stormed back with four unanswered goals. The Bruins, whose power play started finding its groove last week, scored three times on the man advantage, converting 75 percent of their opportunities.
Boston Bruins’ Power Play And Experience Were Key To Stalling The Ducks
Boston’s average age, per Hockey-Reference, is 28.0, making them one of the younger teams in the league. That said, Anaheim’s average age clocks in at 26.0, a full two years younger than the Bruins. The Ducks were also without Mikael Granlund, one of their most experienced players.
Without Granlund’s veteran presence, Sturm’s comments deserve further justification. It’s easy for young teams with limited veteran leadership to think they have the game wrapped up after building a multi-goal lead, only to watch that lead slip as the game progresses.
For the Bruins (12 points), it puts the Atlantic Division on notice. Boston has shown several times that bad starts to games don’t translate to guaranteed losses.
As far as performance throughout a slate of games goes, the Bruins have further shown that they can quickly get their act together — as was the case with their power play, which has now converted on 27.27 percent of its opportunities.
Bruins And Ducks Heading In Opposite Directions
Heading into Saturday, the Bruins are tied with the Ottawa Senators for first place in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the Ducks have dropped to fourth in the Pacific, and their eight points are tied with the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose was another young team that gave the Bruins a challenge out of the gate on Tuesday. The game was deadlocked 2-2 until the 8:42 mark of the second when Matthew Poitras scored. Boston scored again at the 19:57 mark of the second when Pavel Zacha found the net.
Ultimately, the Bruins won that game 6-3. So, for the second time in as many contests, Boston had the edge in experience and played better hockey for more of those 60 minutes than both Anaheim and San Jose.
On Saturday, the Boston Bruins will face the Los Angeles Kings, a team that is one of the oldest and most experienced in hockey but one that has struggled early this season. We will see if the Bruins can keep up their tempo against what will be a team starving for its first win.
Boston Bruins Coach Marco Sturm Reveals Key To Comeback Win Over Ducks