The Colorado Avalanche boast some of the best high-end skill in the NHL, including current Hart Trophy frontrunner Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar, who is being mentioned in the same breath as Bobby Orr these days.
When they’re at their best, the Avs are a breathtaking combination of speed and skill.
But the Bruins’ top guys take a back seat to no one in the league and on Thursday at the Garden, they showed it.
Coach Jim Montgomery loaded up with his top two defensemen, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, paired with the top line of Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand to go against the Avs’ top pairing of Makar and Devon Toews and the top line of McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Jonathan Drouin.
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And what did the battle of the behomoth’s produce? A David Pastrnak hat trick (Nos. 27, 28, 29) and a hard-earned 5-2 victory for the Bruins over the Avalanche.
“I think it was a challenge that all five guys wanted,” said Montgomery. “I don’t know if it was a statement game, but I just like how our game is building. You can see the confidence throughout the lineup with how we’re playing with the puck.”
The B’s came out throwing haymakers in the first, had to weather a Colorado flurry in the second and then produced one of their best shutdown third periods of the season, limiting the Avs to just four shots before finally putting the game on ice with a late power-play goal by Pastrnak.
Pastrnak fired 13 shots at the net and landed eight on a night that could lift him into the Hart conversation as well.
“Those are fun always,” said Pastrnak of the matchup. “You always want to play against the top players. Nate is a little tougher. You wouldn’t mind if you stay away from their line. They’ve been playing unbelievable. But it’s always challenging and good motivation to play against them. He and Mikko have been unbelievable together. It’s fun to play against those guys.”
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But as intriguing as the five-man mano-a-mano was, it was the B’s depth that swayed the game in their favor. Jake DeBrusk had his best 200-foot game of the year, notching what turned out to be the winning goal, making a sweet pass to Pastrnak late in the game to give the B’s some breathing space in the third and using his legs to backcheck, snuffing out a couple of promising looking Colorado chances.
DeBrusk has left his first half doldrums behind him.
“It seems to be getting repetitive here in the second half. It seems every game is his best game of the year,” said Montgomery. “That’s a credit to him, because his details, his habits … that play to Pasta? That’s a high-end play on the power-play goal.”
It wouldn’t be a Bruins win without a major contribution from a goaltender, and Jeremy Swayman did that, making 32 saves to nail down his third straight win.
The B’s sent the message early that they were ready to play. On the first shift of the game, the top unit pinned the Avs back in their zone until Coyle poked the puck away from Makar, right to Pastrnak, who circled out and beat Alexander Georgiev for his 27th of the year just 44 seconds into the game.
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Jakub Lauko gave them a 2-0 advantage with his first goal of the year at 4:58. Lindholm stopped a clear attempt along the left wall and got the puck down low to Morgan Geekie. Spotting the wide open Lauko on the left side, Geekie got it to him for the easy open net backhander.
The B’s had their momentum stunted briefly after Oskar Steen was called for tripping on what looked like incidental contact. The B’s were able to kill off the penalty but before they were able to get another man into the play, Miles Wood somehow sneaked a follow-up shot through Swayman’s shortside.
But DeBrusk got the B’s their two-goal lead back at 14:52 with his 10th of the season. With DeBrusk cutting through the slot, Parker Wotherspoon connected on a pass that DeBrusk deflected past Georgiev from the high slot.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar challenged for offside on Pavel Zacha on the zone entry, but it was ruled Zacha had “possession and control of the puck as he entered the attacking zone.” The B’s could not put the hammer down on the ensuing power play, however.
The Avs picked up the pace in the second, outshooting the B’s 17-8 and, after some close calls, they finally pulled to within one with 3:40 left in the period. Swayman stopped a long shot from the left point from Josh Manson, but it got under and behind him. It didn’t go over the line, but MacKinnon located it before Swayman could and tapped it home.
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Colorado would start the third period with a power play, and it sure felt like the Avs were ready to soar. But the B’s never let them get airborne.
After grinding the period out with a one-goal lead, the B’s finally put it away after Manson high-sticked Coyle and, with 2:36 left, DeBrusk cut to the middle of the ice before he slipped a pass down low to Pastrnak for a tip and a 4-2 lead. Coyle then made sure that Pastrnak got the hat trick with the Colorado net empty.
And while Montgomery didn’t want to call it a statement win, it is sure feeling like his team just might have something to say this season after all.
Bruins star David Pastrnak throws a hat after his hat trick goal during the third period at the TD Garden. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Boston taxis will be able to pick up passengers who request Uber and Lyft rides under a new pilot program announced by Mayor Michelle Wu Tuesday.
Customers who get a cab through a ride-hailing app will still see the cost upfront on their phone as opposed to the typical taxi fare structure.
“The goal of the pilot is to give Boston passengers more options to hail a taxi and to allow Boston’s licensed taxis to participate directly in meeting the demand for trips generated through Uber and Lyft,” the city said in a news release.
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Wu said the yearlong pilot will allow cab drivers to earn more while reducing wait times for passengers.
“We’re thankful for the collaboration and advocacy from our taxicab drivers to introduce this new transportation service, and excited to support the people who keep our city moving,” the mayor said.
The program excludes taxi trips to Boston’s Logan Airport, and allows the Hackney Division to make exceptions during some special events in the city.
Uber’s website informs users “you might get matched with a Boston taxi driver.”
“If so, you’ll enjoy the same 24/7 availability and affordable prices you know with UberX while riding to your destination in a cab,” Uber says.
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The city said it expects taxi drivers will now be able to “access a significantly larger number of trips than most currently serve.”
“This change is a major boost for taxi drivers in Boston and the passengers we serve,” said Balwinder Gill, who has owned and operated a Boston taxi for 25 years.
The World Cup economic windfall boosting Boston gives rise to a question: Could the Hub host the Olympics?
Certainly Bostonians have more than risen to the occasion in terms of welcoming international visitors to our city and showing them a good time (and vice versa, Tartan Army). But it takes more than great hosts and a convivial atmosphere to pull off an epic sporting event.
It takes money, lots of it, political transparency, and a process open to public scrutiny and feedback. In other words, no, we couldn’t.
Public reception to the 2014 Olympics bid was tepid at best, as it would entail multiple construction projects. And when big construction projects are presented in Boston, taxpayers get suspicious. Big Dig, anyone?
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Boston 24 announced it estimated the Games would produce at least $4.8 billion in revenues from television broadcast rights, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and other revenues, the Associated Press reported. They assumed nearly $4.6 billion in costs, including $176 million for a temporary Olympic Stadium, $90 million for the athletes’ village, about $754 million to build other Olympic venues and another $132 million to rent other locations.
They reportedly announced all this to answer critics who said the privately funded Boston 2024 withheld details of the bid to prevent the public from assessing whether the Games could be staged, as promised, without the need for taxpayer money.
We learned the answer to that soon enough.
In this case, as the Herald reported that year, details from Boston 2024’s so-called bid book indicated that plans sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee called for the Hub to fund “land acquisition and infrastructure costs” at Widett Circle, where a temporary Olympic stadium was being proposed. It came after months of promises that the group planned to run a privately funded Olympics.
“They’ve been saying for months, ‘No taxpayer (money),’ ” said Evan Falchuk, a vocal bid critic who pushed for a statewide ballot question on hosting the games. “Then you read what they told the USOC. … It’s a devastating blow to their credibility. There’s a reason why voters don’t trust what they’ve heard and (Boston 2024 has) got a lot of work to do to earn that trust.”
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And all this talk of money came before any cost overruns made an appearance. London’s budget for the 2012 Summer Games escalated by about 300%, ending somewhere in the $14 billion range. What were the chances we’d fare any better?
No wonder Bostonians gave the Olympics idea the cold shoulder.
But what of the city’s World Cup success story? For starters, Gillette Stadium is already built, and the only large element requiring a cash infusion was the MBTA, which shelled out $35 million to upgrade Foxboro Station in advance of the Cup. They’ll make a nice chunk of that back, as the T spiked round-trip Commuter Rail ticket prices between South Station and Gillette Stadium for fútbol fans to $80.
In this case, Bostonians are on the winning side, reaping benefits from free-spending (and thirsty) visitors, and reveling in the good vibes.
It would be great for the city if megaprojects, or even minor ones, came with the guarantee of financial transparency before shovels hit the dirt. Optimists should look at White Stadium before calling it a day.
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Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)
Michael O’Neil is on the hunt for the next John Hancock.
As many Boston sports fans know, the insurance company first sponsored the Boston Marathon 40 years ago, helping usher in the modern professional era of the race as well as tens of millions of dollars in community fund-raising each year.
O’Neil wants to make a similar leap for the race he runs, the Boston Triathlon. This will be the first year without a naming-rights sponsor after nine years with Ameriprise Financial-owned Columbia Threadneedle Investments. O’Neil is seeking a successor that can help make an impact on the race the way Hancock once did with the marathon, a sponsorship role now played by Bank of America.
“We’re looking for that next transformational partner that wants to do something like that,” O’Neil said.
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The 18-year-old triathlon draws nearly 2,500 athletes to Carson Beach in South Boston each August, for sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, and also features free kids’ races the day before at the same location; Amazon has been a big sponsor for the “Kids Day” events.
O’Neil says he would like to extend the race beyond loops in South Boston to showcase more of the city and boost tourism; the Meet Boston tourism bureau is also among the race’s sponsors. Another hope of O’Neil’s: to continue community efforts that he and his race management firm, Ethos, undertook with support from Columbia Threadneedle, including donations to Boston Medical Center and the city’s “Swim Safe” program to provide swim lessons for kids. (O’Neil started an affiliated nonprofit to help expand this community work in 2024.)
He expects the race’s naming-rights sponsorship to cost “in the mid-six figures” annually.
“We’re over this hump now, after 18 years, we’re an institution,” O’Neil said. “We’re seeking a Boston-based company, that’s headquartered here or has a large presence here, that wants to make an impact on the community. … We know how to do that.”
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.
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Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
