BOSTON — Joe Sacco tried to stick to his regular routine on his first gameday as Boston Bruins interim head coach Thursday.
But Sacco veered off course, looking to soak up a moment that had been in the making ever since he joined the Bruins as an assistant in 2013.
“I tried to prepare the way I normally would,” Sacco said. “Obviously, it was a different day for me because I stayed at the rink today all day. That’s one thing. Typically I go home in-between the morning skate and the game. But I stayed at Warrior (Ice Arena) today and I was just able to relax and get my thoughts together. I wanted to try to enjoy the night as well because I knew this was the first one and to make sure I remembered it.”
Sacco’s first time as the lead boss behind the Bruins bench was even more memorable since he got the result he wanted. The Bruins got back to their hard-nosed identity, grinding it out against the Utah Hockey club to earn a narrow 1-0 win at TD Garden.
It wasn’t Sacco’s first win as a head coach. The 2010 Jack Adams Award finalist compiled 130 wins over his four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. But there’s no doubt the 55-year-old Medford, Mass. native holds his first win with the Black and Gold in an elevated position in high regard.
“It feels pretty good. I’m not going to lie to you, obviously,” Sacco said. “But then to get our guys to get a win, too, was even more important, feel better about themselves. And I think how we went about the game tonight was a business-like approach.”
Sacco said he got the puck after the game as a keepsake. Bruins captain Brad Marchand was more than happy to hand it over to him. And with Sacco and the Bruins coming out on top in the first game since the franchise fired Jim Montgomery, it created some much necessary good vibes around the team.
“It’s great for Joe to get his first win as a coach of this team,” Marchand said. “Very happy for him. He’s an incredible coach and a great guy. Definitely a nice night.”
Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Utah game:
— Elias Lindholm scored the only goal of the game when he put home a rebound on the power play with 7:19 left in the second period — Marchand and David Pastrnak assisted on the goal. The tally helped get the proverbial monkey off Lindholm’s back since he hadn’t scored since the third game of the season.
“It was huge,” Lindholm said. “It’s been a tough couple games or stretch here for me. Obviously, I haven’t played good enough. Hopefully that can help a little bit and get some confidence.”
— The Bruins turned to Joonas Korpisalo in net and he delivered a standout performance. Korpisalo stopped all 21 Utah shots that came his way to earn his second shutout this month.
— The Bruins converted only one of their seven power-play chances, but they looked more organized and got several good scoring looks on the man advantage. Sacco said he tweaked Jim Montgomery’s power-play system by moving Marchand lower and closer to the net.
— Bruins forward Mark Kastelic was in a fighting mood after sitting out Monday’s loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets due to a lower-body injury. He tangled with Utah’s Robert Bortuzzo twice and after settling for a draw in the first bout, Kastelic unleashed his “rage” and pummeled the veteran defenseman in the second go-around.
— The Bruins will look to make it two wins in a row when they battle the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Puck drop from Little Caesars Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
