Charlie Coyle's short-handed goal was the game-winner for the Boston Bruins Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.
In a game deadlocked 0-0 with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period, the Boston Bruins headed to penalty kill for the fourth time that night.
A Mason Lohrei hooking call put the Nashville Predators up a man Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena, but it didn’t deflate his team. Instead, the Bruins dug deep and came up with a shorthanded, game-winning goal from Charlie Coyle.
“It’s been a little while since we’ve gotten a shorty like that,” Brandon Carlo said to the media Tuesday. “A different type of energy when you score those goals.”
Linus Ullmark – who dazzled with a 32-save shutout – wheeled the puck along the boards and out, which found Brad Marchand on the left wall. The captain collected the rubber and backhanded it to a streaking Coyle who popped it past Juuse Saros in close for the 1-0 lead at 13:18.
“That’s a combination of his ability to play the puck but also his hockey sense,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said to the media Tuesday of Ullmark’s assist on the play. “He just recognizes time and space really well.”
After more than 50 minutes of tight-checking, fast-paced, back-and-forth hockey, the Bruins cracked the Predators – and cashed in for two more goals – in the 3-0 victory.
Pavel Zacha padded Boston’s advantage at 17:18 off a pretty passing play with David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen off the rush. Pastrnak carried the puck into the zone, dropped it to Heinen below the goal line who then found Zacha open in the slot to whack home.
Pastrnak sealed the win just over a minute later with an empty-net goal to make it 3-0. The Bruins’ point-leader settled the puck in the neutral zone before wristing it down ice for his 46th of the season.
Beyond the two points, the Bruins’ ability to match their opponent’s desperation and sufficiently close out a game in the third period were the biggest wins of the night. The compete level – in all three zones – was maintained through 60 minutes, and Boston stuck to the process instead of getting frustrated in the low-scoring affair.
“I think it was great. ‘Monty’ came in between the second and the third and told us not to get impatient,” Carlo said. “We were playing a good game up to that point, and playing the right way. Especially in the third, we just stuck to our details and our process and it resulted in success at the end of the game.”
With the win, the Bruins improved to a 44-17-15 record, putting them four points ahead of the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. The team will be back in action Thursday to close out its road trip with a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
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