Brad Marchand scored the game winning goal late in the first period and Jaroslav Halak slammed the door with a shutout in his first action of the season between the pipes as the Boston Bruins spoiled the Arizona Coyotes home opener with a 1-0 win Saturday night at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Arizona (0-2-0) dominated territorially in the opening period outshooting Boston 12-5, but Marchand scored on the Bruins fifth shot that proved to be the game winner. Patrice Bergeron won a battle along the left wing boards and centered for Marchand who wristed a quick wrist shot from just inside the left faceoff circle that beat Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper short side at 18:41.
Boston (2-0-0) has now beaten Arizona 15 consecutive times. Halak made 35 saves to garner the win. Kuemper made 25 saves in the loss for the Coyotes. Arizona went 0-3 on the powerplay, while Boston was 0-2.
The Bruins next travel to Las Vegas to battle the Golden Knights on Tuesday night at 10 p.m.
