For the first time since being fired, Jim Montgomery made his return to the TD Garden as head coach of the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. After losing 5-4 to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Bruins were still minus David Pastrnak and in need of a win to keep pace in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead, and after the Blues cut the deficit in half early in the second, Boston erupted for three goals to close out the period with a 5-1 lead to all but end the night for St. Louis. Here are three observations after the Black and Gold improved to 16-13-0.
3 Bruins observations from win over Blues1. Morgan Geekie stays hot
St. Louis Blues v Boston Bruins | Winslow Townson/GettyImages
Morgan Geekie continues to find the back of the net. That was the case in the first period with the Bruins holding a 1-0 lead. In the slot, he took a pass from Elias Lindholm and snapped it past Jordan Binnington for a 2-0 lead. It was his 21st goal of the season, and without Pastrnak, they are going to need him to continue to produce.
2. Pavel Zacha strikes late
St. Louis Blues v Boston Bruins | Winslow Townson/GettyImages
With Boston holding a 3-1 lead in the second period, Pavel Zacha struck twice in the final eight minutes. He scored his first goal when he carried the puck into the Blues zone and snapped a wrist shot over Binnington’s shoulder. Then St. Louis was called for a penalty with 15 seconds left in the middle frame, and Zacha scored with 0.2 seconds left for a 5-1 lead. That was the final dagger for the Blues.
3. Joonas Korpisalo comes up big
St. Louis Blues v Boston Bruins | Winslow Townson/GettyImages
In a three-goal win, the goalie can sometimes get lost in the shuffle, but Joonas Korpisalo made 37 saves, and it was his work early in the second period after the Blues cut the deficit to 2-1 that was huge. He made some timely saves to keep St. Louis from tying the game and allowed his teammates to build the lead down the other end. Korpisalo was strong all night.
Alex Steeves opened the scoring for the Bruins with another goal, and Viktor Arvidsson scored the final Boston goal. Next up is New Jersey on Saturday night at the TD Garden, in what will be another test before a three-game road trip.