*Photo from Boston Hockey Now*
The accomplishments just keep on coming for this bunch. Tyler Bertuzzi scored, David Pastrnak scored the winning goal, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 2-1 overtime victory on Thursday night in Boston.
With the win, the Bruins are now 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. They also secured the Presidents Trophy, given to the team with the best regular season record in the league, also guaranteeing home ice advantage for as long as they go in the playoffs. This is the 4th time the Bruins have won the trophy.
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said of the achievement that "Of course, you're proud. It's a lot of games, a lot of hard work, and I'm proud of the way we've done it by sticking to our process and growing as a team and learning and really playing for each other. That being said, it's nice, but obviously you have your eyes set on bigger."
Jack Roslovic scored the only goal of the first period, giving the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead on his 10th goal of the season, assisted by Liam Foudy. Bertuzzi then struck for the Bruins in the second period, scoring a power play goal 10:07 into the period, assisted by Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha on his 6th goal of the season.
No goals were scored after that in regulation, which led to overtime. Just 41 seconds into the extra period, Pastrnak played hero for the Bruins. He scored his 53rd goal of the season, securing the win for the Bruins with assists from Tomas Nosek and Hampus Lindholm, making the final score 2-1 Bruins.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that "I thought they played a real good game being on top of us, but we kept finding ways. Even though tonight's game was not the standard we've seen all year, it does exemplify how good of a team we are because of people executing and relishing their roles."
It was Linus Ullmark in net for the Bruins as they secured the best record in the NHL. Ullmark stopped all but one of the 26 shots on goal the Blue Jackets had, which was good for an outstanding .962 save percentage. Ullmark's record is now 37-6-1 this season.
Getting the start was Michael Hutchinson for the Blue Jackets, who dropped to 1-3-2 in 10 games. Hutchinson turned aside 29 out of the 31 shots on goal from the Bruins, recording a .935 save percentage.
After the game, Hutchinson said that "We play hard with a lot of effort. Coming down the stretch, we're not going to lay down for anyone and give them space out there just because of where they are in the standings and where we are. So, I don't know if they were expecting us to come out that hard, but it turned into a really good hockey game."
Both teams resume their schedules with games on Saturday. The Bruins travel to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, with Jeremy Swayman projected to start. The Blue Jackets welcome the Florida Panthers to town, with Elvis Merzlikins likely to start.
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