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  • What we learned on a day of milestones

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    What we learned on a day of milestones

    Tim Rosenthal January 14, 2017
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    Saturday afternoon’s Bruins-Flyers game might as well have been brought to you by the number 500.

    David Krejci and Brad Marchand can attest to that.

    By the time he skated his first shift, Marchand officially added his 500th game to his impressive career that’s only going to get better. What better way to cap off the matinee with a five-point performance (two goals, three assists) in the B’s wild 6-3 win over the Flyers in front of 17,565 at TD Garden.

    “I actually had no idea that it was my 500th game. I found that out afterwards,” Marchand said about the milestone. “It’s nice and it’s great to finish it off with a win.”

    Prior to the four-game road trip, Marchand was in a three-goal-in-fifteen-game stretch. After notching five goals during the road swing, Marchand picked up right where he left off.

    And he had a bit of luck on his side too after notching his shorthanded tally at 7:48 of the first despite fanning his shot on the breakaway attempt.

    “That’s how hockey goes. Sometimes pucks bounce your way and other times they don’t,” said Marchand, who now has seven goals in his last five games. “It is nice when things go your way. You feel a little more confident and you feel like you’re able to do things that you’re a little nervous to try at different times.”

    Two minutes into the second, Krejci earned his own milestone with his power play tally: his 500th career point. The Bruins assistant captain notched his 10th of the season and 144th of his 10-year tenure to go along with 356 assists.

    “Well you need your best players to be your best players and the rest will follow up,” Krejci said about the Bruins’ offensive output that also included a 2-for-6 output on the power play. “I thought we played a really strong game, other than the first 10 minutes, we are still trying to work on it but we are getting better at it and we got a big two points this afternoon.”

    Here is what else we learned as the Bruins began a stretch of five of their next seven at home on a high note.

    Krug’s hot streak continues

    Three games and three goals.

    At a time where the power play and offense is starting to get some traction, it’s fitting that Torey Krug is helping with the output. With two points on the afternoon, Krug notched his 13th point in as many games.

    Krug matched last year’s goal total with four after tipping a Marchand pass past Michal Neuvirth 6:00 into the second.

    “It’s been there for awhile now,” Krug said about his confidence compared to the start of the season. “Even though I’m not getting the goals or the results early on, [I’m] just sticking with it and trying to make the plays that I’m capable of making, Right now [pucks are] going in and I’m helping the team out, but it’s about taking the same approach every game.”

    “He’s starting to feel it and things are starting to come around for him,” Julien said about Krug’s recent stretch. “You know, when you’re confident you can do a lot of things and when that confidence turns into good things…it certainly makes you that much of a better player.”

    Pastrnak commits and draws penalties

    At times, Pastrnak was channel`ing his inner Marchand on Saturday, and not in a good way. With his career-long goal drought extending to 12 games, the Bruins’ leading scorer was sent to the box three times – one of which led to Wayne Simmonds’ 5-on-3 goal with 3.5 ticks left in the second period.

    More often than not, he was also sending the Flyers to the box. Pastrnak drew four Flyers penalties including two midway the third period that gave the Bruins their own chance with a two-man advantage. Though they couldn’t extend the lead, the chances from that 5-on-3 chance kept the Flyers on their heels at a time of desperation.

    Back to .500 on Garden ice

    At a time where points are at a premium and with every team in the Atlantic Division having games in hand, the Bruins started their stretch of five of their next seven at home on a high note. With the win over the Flyers, they are now 10-10-0 at TD Garden.

    Up next is an Islanders team that had their way with the Black and Gold last month despite being in the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

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    Tim Rosenthal

    Tim Rosenthal serves as the Managing Editor of Bruins Daily. He started contributing videos to the site in 2010 before fully coming on board during the Bruins' Stanley Cup run in 2011. His bylines over the last decade have been featured on Boston.com, FoxSports.com, College Hockey News, Patch and Inside Hockey. You can follow Tim on Twitter @_TimRosenthal.

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