The Boston Bruins appear to have turned things around and will go for a sixth consecutive win Saturday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins made it five in a row Thursday when Pavel Zacha scored at 4:54 of overtime for a 3-2 home win over the Ottawa Senators.
Toronto has won three straight and five of six after defeating the Utah Mammoth 5-3 on Wednesday.
Boston has won six of their last seven games since ending a six-game losing streak. The only loss since then was a 7-2 defeat to the Senators on Oct. 27.
“I think that was a big motivation for us,” Zacha said. “We had a bad game there and lost pretty badly, so I think before the game we were motivated to give it back, and I’m happy that we won.”
Bruins coach Marco Sturm said that it was the only game the team did not give the effort he expects.
“These guys, they give me everything they have,” Sturm said. “Did we play the way we wanted early on? Probably not. But I think everyone gets it now. Everyone knows me now and knows what I want out of them. Everyone is accepting their role, and everyone does their job. I could go on and on. Again, that’s the way we have to play. I’m very happy structure-wise how we approach every game now.”
Boston’s John Beecher left the game Thursday after one period and did not return.
Ottawa scored first on Thursday and tied the game in the third after Sean Kuraly’s goal late in the second period gave Boston a 2-1 lead. Giving up a third-period lead might have resulted in a different outcome earlier in the season.
“I think what we learned during that losing streak is just hang around for a second and don’t shoot yourself in the foot after,” said Kuraly. “Let’s go out there, let’s get a couple shifts. Number one is just get out of our end and then, eventually, they’ll make a mistake, too.”
This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. They play again in Boston on Tuesday. Toronto was 3-0-1 against Boston last season.
The Maple Leafs will open a back-to-back on Saturday, and their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday will be the finale of a four-game homestand and a stretch of 12 games in 16 at home to open the season.
After overcoming a poor first two periods and a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, the Maple Leafs played a more complete game against the Mammoth.
“Solid effort all around,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “We played a smart game. It’s a good team over there. They’ve got a lot of good offense and fast players. I thought we did a good job keeping them at bay for the most part. The penalty kill was good. I thought everybody contributed tonight in their own way.”
John Tavares, who scored his 500th career goal Oct. 29 in a 6-3 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, broke a 2-2 tie with goal No. 501 in the third period Wednesday. He was honored before the game.
“I think it hit me more today,” Tavares said. “It makes you think about a lot of things.”
Toronto defenseman Simon Benoit did not play Wednesday because of illness, but he participated in practice Friday.
