Bruins Postgame: DiPietro’s First Shutout Means So Much More

The Boston Bruins had plenty to celebrate on Thursday night, but Michael DiPietro’s night meant much more than two points. 

The Bruins (8-2-1) extended their point streak to seven games with a commanding 6-0 win over the Nashville Predators (3-3-3) at TD Garden. Five different players scored, with David Pastrnak scoring twice and Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm, JJ Peterka, and Mark Kastelic adding one. Charlie McAvoy finished with four assists, and DiPietro made 28 saves in his first NHL shutout. 

The Bruins hosted Hockey Fights Cancer night on Thursday. DiPietro lost his mother to cancer when he was younger, making his first NHL shutout on Thursday all the more meaningful. 

“A little bit stressed out, but obviously, you couldn’t really write it better,” DiPietro said postgame. “For me, it means a lot on Hockey Fights Cancer night. My mom passed away when I was five from cancer. So for me, it means a lot, but also to my family and everyone back home, and I just want to make them proud, and obviously this is a really special moment.”

DiPietro made stops on all 28 shots he faced, including seven high-danger shots. He finished with 3.78 goals saved above expected, according to Natural Stat Trick. 

After the game, the Bruins greeted their goaltender with a shower of water from their bottles.

“I mean, what an awesome kid,” McAvoy, 28, said about DiPietro, 27. “Getting to know him last year through camp. And then this year, kind of knowing that he was going to have a spot on the team, which he earned. But man, all through camp, just some of the saves that he was making, just so impressive. Tonight to get his first shutout, you know, coming off the heels of his first win in Anaheim, it’s amazing.” 

DiPietro recorded his first NHL win last time out, and in his first start at home, recorded his first NHL shutout. He has played 100:17 without allowing a goal, with stops on each of his last 41 shots. 

“Of course, yeah. I think it starts creeping in your head,” DiPietro said when asked if the shutout was on his mind. “You’re on an island out there for a long time, so a bunch of thoughts come [to] your head. So I think just kind of acknowledging it, kind of moving on from it, and just trying to stay as present as possible and not trying to get too far ahead of yourself is important, and just kind of resetting after each whistle.”

“The team had a great start. I just wanted to make sure that I was sharp whenever the pucks were coming.”  

The last time the Bruins returned home from a trip out west, they came out flat and lost 4-1 to the Ottawa Senators. Marco Sturm harped on that after morning skate, but cited the Bruins coming out with “a good jump” on Thursday morning. That carried over into the game, as Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring just 3:49 into the first period. 

The Bruins took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission and added two goals in every period, a much different response than their last return home.

“You know what I liked the most, besides Mikey’s shutout, is that we came out with energy,” Sturm said after the game. “We talked about it in the morning. We addressed it. After a big road trip, it’s not always easy, but I thought it was one of the best pre-game skates we had all year. That’s exactly the way we skated – the energy, anything about it – we kind of carried it over to tonight’s game. And that’s where I’m happy with because now it shows for next time that we can do it. It’s just a mindset. Sometimes it’s hard, but that, for me, was the biggest reason why we won this game tonight.” 

The Bruins got off to a strong start and never wavered. They, like for much of the road trip, got contributions up and down their lineup. Five different Bruins found the back of the net, and they had two players with four-point nights. David Pastrnak, who had two goals and two assists on Thursday, now leads the team with six goals, but he’s one of seven players to have three or more tucks this season.

“It’s amazing. Obviously it helps [that] every line is producing,” Pastrnak said. “It’s more like you’re waiting, just, ‘Who is it going to be tonight?’ So it’s fun to see. Every line is finding chemistry already, slowly. So we have good chemistry all around four lines, and it’s producing, so it’s good to see and makes it much easier for us defending and getting the wins.” 

“It’s been good. I think, especially when you kind of want to match lines or something,” JJ Peterka, another goal scorer on Thursday, added. “When every line is capable of scoring goals, every line is dangerous when they’re out there, and I think that’s a really nice thing to have.” 

The Bruins now have points in their last seven games, including a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks last Tuesday. They will close out their season series, and their brief two-game homestand, against the Sharks on Saturday night at 7:00 PM. 

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