3 Takeaways From the Bruins’ 4-3 Overtime Win Against the Blackhawks

The Bruins fired 33 shots towards Arvid Soderblom, and six of them were high-danger chances. To capitalize on more than half is outstanding work. The first goal by Casey Mittelstadt does not happen without the work done by Viktor Arvidsson. His willingness to drive to the front of the net is the reason the Bruins got on the board. The second goal by Tanner Jeannot was due to cycling the puck down low and being right on the doorstep to put the puck in the net. 

Going to the front of the net became the mantra of the night for the Bruins. Elias Lindholm went straight to the front of the net upon zone entry on the power play. The puck went cross-ice, and he pounced on that loose puck to extend his point streak to two games.

Overall, the Bruins dominated the high danger areas of the ice, out-attempting the Blackhawks 8-5 and found good chances from the middle of the slot. The goals were greasy and came from the front of the net, but they led to a win, which is what counts. 

The Loss of Hampus Lindholm Stings 

The Bruins will likely have to wait for the result of what the injury is, but it’s been labeled as a lower-body injury. Upon the conclusion of the game, they stressed that it is a minor injury and not related to his knee. During the TV timeout, Hampus Lindholm skated a lap to see how he felt and then went down the tunnel. The Bruins did win this game, but a lengthy absence would leave a black hole in the Bruins’ defense. The impact Lindholm has on the defensive unit is top-notch, and even with the limited minutes in this matchup, he was effective. 

Lindholm only played 4:25 in this game, but his impacts were noted. In the small sample size, he finished with a Corsi for percentage of 80 and had an expected goals differential of 96.55. The control of play was in the Bruins favor when he was on the ice. Losing him for an extended period would put the blue line in quite a bind. Frederic Brunet’s time might be coming sooner than later, as he had a good showing in preseason, or Jordan Harris could slot into the lineup. 

Fraser Minten Plays the Hero 

It took six games for Fraser Minten to score a goal as a member of the Bruins. For the start of this season, it took only two. Minten got to be the big hero in the home opener, scoring the game-winner off an odd-man rush and sniping a shot past Soderblom. Given how hard he played, he deserved it. 

Minten was a force for the Bruins and had an effective game. He was positionally aware, did a much better job in the faceoff circle (44.4% success rate compared to the first game), and created offense. When on the ice, his 0.72 expected goals was sixth best among all Bruins skaters. Furthermore, he was unafraid to shoot the puck, having the second-most shots on goal. He was much more shooter-friendly in this game, as he did not fire a shot on goal in the first game of the season. 

The entire goal for the Bruins is to play their younger guys and let them develop. Minten has now been a bright spot for the first two games of the season, and scoring the game-winner is huge. 

Bruins Begin Season Undefeated

The Bruins are undefeated to begin the season, winning both games in their back-to-back set. The wins have come in different ways, but nonetheless they are 2-0-0. This is a great way to begin the Sturm era, and let’s now hope Lindholm is not out for an extended period of time.