Bruins’ improvement in this facet of the game is very encouraging.

Bruins’ improvement in this facet of the game is very encouraging originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston. The Boston Bruins beat a very good Colorado Avalanche team 5-2 at TD Garden on Thursday night in one of their best performances of the 2023-24 NHL season.

The Avalanche have a lot of high-end skill — including a Hart Trophy candidate in center Nathan MacKinnon — and even though they fell behind 2-0 and 3-1, the game wasn’t truly over until late in the third period when David Pastrnak’s second goal gave the B’s a 4-2 lead with 2:36 remaining. He added an empty-net goal soon after to complete a hat trick and seal the victory, which improved the Bruins’ record to an Eastern Conference-leading 27-8-9 (63 points).

There were plenty of positive signs for the Bruins in this win.

Jake DeBrusk posted his third multi-point game of the season and now has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his last 12 games. He appears to finally be hitting his stride offensively after some inconsistency earlier in the season. Boston’s top players also outplayed Colorado’s stars, which isn’t easy to do considering the immense talent level on the Avs’ roster.

However, the way the Bruins concluded the game was the most promising part of their victory.

At the start of the third quarter, the Bruins led 3-2. The Avalanche is a prolific scorer, but the Bruins defense put up a strong fight when it mattered most. After two periods, the Avalanche had 28 shots on goal, but in the last 20 minutes, they managed just four. Boston put up a strong defensive performance.

“Really good,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said in his postgame press conference when asked about his team’s final 20 minutes. “One of the better periods we’ve had trying to protect a one-goal lead. We had poise coming out of our D-zone, we made strong plays, we had good wall plays that led to a couple odd-man rushes. And then how we hung on to pucks and were patient offensively, which got us a power play and other opportunities.”

Holding third period leads has been an issue for the Bruins at times this season.

Back in December, they had an even goal differential in the third period through 30 games. They were plus-54 in the third period last season. But over the last 14 games, the B’s have the second-best third period goal differential at plus-11. Their 20 goals scored in the third period during that span is the second highest in the league.

After three games (all wins), they have a 5-1 goal differential in the third period.

“We are happy with the manner we performed. Charlie Coyle, the center for the Bruins, told reporters after the game, “It’s a good sign for us closing out games, especially against a good team, a team that can be deadly with a lot of good players.” “We aim to achieve that. extending the lead while maintaining proper technique and playfulness. We did a decent job of wrapping things up, in my opinion.”

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