A mere six games into the new NHL season, the Bruins (4-2-0) have been helped by three goals from their defensive corps.
Mason Lohrei scored again in Saturday’s 5-1 smackdown of the hapless Flyers at TD Garden, his second goal in as many games. Hampus Lindholm scored in the overtime win against the Jets in Winnipeg.
An offensive feeding frenzy from the back end? Not really, but it is an interesting, and potentially significant, contrast to last season when the Bruins went one third of the season (27 games) with only five goals from their blue liners.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm’s message to his defensemen: If there’s a chance to join in the fun, by all means, take it.
“I want it to be part of our game,” said Sturm, after first noting scoring back there was not his “biggest” priority. “Because if I look at some other teams, the ones that give us headaches are the ones that always activate their defensemen. I feel like in the past we didn’t do that enough.”
Jordan Harris, now with AHL Providence, scored the first goal on the back end last season in Game No. 4.
Nikita Zadorov scored in the next game, followed by Lohrei in Game No. 9, Hampus Lindholm in No. 18, and Lohrei again in No. 20.
It remained crickets in the defense goal-scoring bureau until Jonathan Aspirot scored in Game No. 28. It was the worst offensive start by Bruins defensemen since the 1960s.
More offensive presence from the back end —the potential increasing with Charlie McAvoy’s return to the lineup Tuesday — in theory makes for an easier time for the forwards. If opposing defenses don’t sense the threat from “up high” when in their own zone, they can lean harder, and with greater numbers, on the Bruins forwards who are fighting to get into high-danger scoring areas.
“I think this year it’s a little different,” noted Sturm. “I think I’ve paid more attention to it. I addressed it more and it’s slowly paying off. I still want us to be in control, but also, if there’s a time to jump [into the play], I want them to do it.”
Minten matches career high
Fraser Minten’s 1-2–3 performance matched his career high for points in a game. He looks far more confident with the puck, able to take that extra fraction of a second to look for a shot or make a pass.
“He was getting better last year,” said fellow pivot Pavel Zacha. “It’s fun to watch how he plays. It’s great. I hope he keeps getting better and better. He has great talent, great speed and it’s great for us when he plays games like this.”
Not taking advantage
The Bruins were stymied again (0 for 2) on the power play. Their 3-for-4 binge on the advantage Thursday vs. the Mammoth accounts for all their power-play goals. Porter Martone scored the Flyers’ lone goal and that came on the power play … Jeremy Swayman improved his own mark to 4-1-0, with a 1.79 goals-against mark and a .932 save percentage … The Bruins scrubbed their Sunday morning workout at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton and instead will go directly to their early-afternoon flight to San Jose, Calif. They’ll face the Sharks on Tuesday, the start of a four-game Western Conference swing with other stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles, and Dallas. They’ll return to home ice at TD Garden to face the Predators Oct. 22 … Event parking at TD Garden this season is $70. For those who remained longer than eight hours Saturday, perhaps to take in the Celtics’ preseason game, the garage employed its double-dip tariff, charging $140.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.