*Photo from the Boston Globe*
On Saturday night, everything was clicking for the Boston Bruins. Patrice Bergeron scored twice, Craig Smith scored his first goal in a Bruins uniform, and the Bruins routed the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6-1 win at the TD Garden. Brad Marchand also scored twice for the Bruins, and Jaroslav Halak only had to make 16 saves in a suffocating performance by the Bruins.
Bergeron started the scoring in the first period, at the 8:09 mark, slapping one home on the power play to make it 1-0. In the second, Kevin Hayes tied things up for the Flyers with a re-direct to make it 1-1. Smith then scored his first as a Bruin, and Charlie Coyle tipped a perfect pass from Trent Frederic into the net to make it 3-1 after two periods. In the 3rd, Marchand scored one goal at even strength and one goal on the power play, and Bergeron then added another power play tally to make it 6-1 Bruins.
Despite having two goals of his own, Marchand was quick to praise Bergeron, the new captain of the Bruins, after the game, saying that "I think it's why you don't hear about, you'd have to talk about it every single night. He always comes to play, he's always competitive…he brings his best. His effort is unmatched out there. It's the reason he's one of the best players in the league and has been for 15 years. Another example of that tonight, stepped up big and led the way on and off the ice."
Jakub Zboril, a young defensemen for the Bruins, notched his first NHL point with an assist on Marchand's power play goal in the 3rd. Zboril got the start on opening night after the Bruins had lost both Torey Krug and Zedeno Chara in free agency, and Zboril has proved he's belonged so far, with some impressive showings along with defensive pair Kevan Miller.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Zboril's performance that "Zboril was a nice surprise. And I don't know if surprise was the right word. We just didn't know. We hadn't seen as much from him, but I find that he's going back on pucks, showing lots of courage, lots of poise all wrapped into one. He's coming out of piles with pucks and we knew he could make good plays. Now he's going in and winning those battles and has a confidence to compete against men…we like what we've seen so far. He's paired with the right guy as well with Kevan Miller. Kevan Miller's a big brother. He'll have his back and he'll push him in practice, so that's been excellent."
The Flyers head to New Jersey to face the Devils on Tuesday night, where Brian Elliott is likely to start for the Flyers. The Bruins welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to town on Tuesday, and top goalie Tuukka Rask figures to get the start.
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