Bruins
“There was a good atmosphere in the locker room. It was alive.
Joe Sacco helped Boston get back into the win column on Thursday. .John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
Joe Sacco had to change his routine Thursday night.
After all, the opportunity to coach your hometown hockey team doesn’t come around very often.
“I tried to prepare like I normally would,” Sacco said Thursday night. “Obviously it’s a different day for me because I was at the rink today all day. I usually go home between morning practice and the game.
“But I stayed at Warrior [Ice Arena] today, and I was able to just relax and collect my thoughts. I want to try to enjoy the day as well, as well as the night, because I knew it was the first. And to make sure I remember it.
Sacco, 55, is no stranger to the Bruins bench. He was an assistant to Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery for 10 seasons before the 2024-25 campaign.
Even Tuesday’s “bittersweet” promotion to the team’s interim head coach following Montgomery’s firing isn’t Sacco’s first stint as an NHL head coach.
But with his first chance as an NHL head coach in 2009, the Medford native relished the chance to start over and try to help a flagging Bruins team find its feet.
Thursday’s home game was a step in the right direction, with Boston picking up its first win since Nov. 12 with a 1-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club.
“Very good. I’m not going to lie to you. Obviously it felt good,” Sacco said of his first official win as Boston’s head coach. “To get our guys to get a win as well was still most importantly – feel better about themselves.
“And I think the way we approached the game tonight was a business approach. I thought we had a few individuals that really brought some energy to our group tonight, to bring the bench up at certain points in the game. And just a good effort from our guys. They really dug.
A one-goal win against a sub-.500 team like Utah doesn’t mean a midseason surge is imminent for an underperforming Boston team.
But Boston controlled the majority of Thursday’s game on Causeway Street – elevating their pace and level of combat by winning foot races and rushing to move pucks along the boards.
While Joonas Korpisalo stood tall with a 21-save shutout, Boston limited Utah to just two high-danger scoring chances in 5-on-5 play all night.
“You still hate the situation that had to arise for us to react that way,” admitted Brad Marchand. “It was a good game tonight, but it’s a game. Our thing has been – we’ve done this before. We had a good game and we kind of let ourselves go.
“So we have to keep building and understand the importance of putting in the same effort every day… It’s great for Joe to get his first win as a coach and this team.” And very happy for him. He’s an incredible coach, a great guy. So a really good night.
If the Bruins want to get back on track, they will need their power play and star players to find ground.
Thursday was a positive development, with Elias Lindholm converting on the power play for his first goal since October 12.
Even though the Bruins’ power play only conceded once on seven power play offerings, Boston generated 18 shots on goal in 10:30 of 5-on-4 reps.
“When things like this happen, it’s unfortunate,” Lindholm said of Montgomery’s firing. “This is a wake-up call for everyone. We didn’t play well enough, and obviously I’m hard on myself.
“I’m probably the hardest on myself, and I know when I’m playing bad. I know when I’m playing well. And obviously [there’s] there have been too many bad matches for me this year. So it’s time to reset and hopefully I can build confidence and help the team more.
Sacco and his revamped team have a lot of work to do moving forward.
But two points is still two points. Sacco will take him and the game puck after helping Boston land in the win column.
“There was a good atmosphere in the locker room,” Sacco said of the post-match atmosphere. “He was alive.”
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