BOSTON — The Bruins came away with a 4-3 win in overtime against the Wild on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden thanks to Taylor Hall’s overtime game-winner.
Boston moved to 5-1-0, while Minnesota fell to 1-3-1.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE (OR TWO) BIG TAKEAWAYS
Nick Foligno is a totally different player from last year.
The forward struggled in 2021-22 to find any sort of offensive groove and finished with just two goals and 11 assists. Training camp and preseason also weren’t too kind to Foligno and he found himself on waivers prior to Opening Night. He acknowledged he was going to do whatever he could to help this team in any capacity — even if it meant playing in the AHL. Foligno cleared waivers and ended up playing on Opening Night and hasn’t missed a game since.
Foligno tied the game at 1-1 in the first period after the Wild took a 1-0 lead on the penalty kill just two minutes into the game. He now has three goals on the season, which is second-most, behind only David Pastrnak (4) and tied with Patrice Bergeron and A.J. Greer.
If Foligno can continue this kind of consistency, coupled with the leadership he already brings, he will prove to be a dangerous player and provide some much-needed secondary scoring on the bottom six. He also drew a penalty for the second game in a row.
As much as the Bruins seem to be clicking, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the power play struggles. Much like last year, it’s been difficult for the B’s to capitalize on the man advantage and they even surrendered two shorthanded goals to the Wild. It’s a long season, but it’s something the Bruins should figure out sooner rather than later, especially allowing teams to score when they’re the ones down a skater.
Getting Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand back should, in theory, help, but they’re still weeks away from returning and the Bruins don’t want to wait to fix the issue at hand.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Pastrnak really only continues to play better not just each and every season, but each and every game.
The forward gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead in the first — a lead the B’s never would relinquish. Pastrnak buried the rebound on what probably was the easiest goal of his career after the Wild broke down defensively.
— Hampus Lindholm provided some insurance for Boston in the second when he lit the lamp for the first time this season on his own rebound with an absolute snipe.
— Linus Ullmark, once again, stood on his head and played a solid game between the pipes. Ullmark has emerged as a No. 1 goalie in four starts and further proved that Saturday afternoon with 24 stops, including a huge save on Joel Eriksson Ek on the Wild power play to keep the one-goal lead safe. Minnesota had two 5-on-3 opportunities back-to-back in the third period and helped the Bruins kill off both penalties with some timely saves.
With Jeremy Swayman struggling through his first two starts, Ullmark has been immensely important to the Bruins.
— Taylor Hall, after starting the season off slow, looks back to his normal self and scored the game-winner in overtime. He now has goals in back-to-back games.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook had the moneyline for both the Wild and the Bruins at -110. A $100 bet on Boston would have made you $110. If you were feeling bold, though, and took Foligno at +450 as an anytime scorer, you had yourself a good day.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins return to action Tuesday night when they host the Dallas Stars. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action beginning at 6 p.m. with “Bruins Pregame Hub.”
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