Browns
“There was a good atmosphere in the dressing 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 own city’s hockey team doesn’t come along often.
“I tried to prepare like I normally would,” Sacco said Thursday night. “It’s obviously a different day for me, because I actually stayed at the rink all day today. I usually go home between the morning skate and the game.
“But I stayed at Warrior (Ice Arena) today and I was able to just relax and clear my thoughts. I want to try to enjoy both the day and the night because I knew it was the first. And to make sure I remembered.
Sacco, 55, is no stranger to the Bruins bench. He served as an assistant under Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery for 10 seasons through the 2024-2025 season.
Even Tuesday’s “bittersweet” promotion as the team’s interim head coach following Montgomery’s firing does not count as Sacco’s first rodeo as an NHL bench boss.
But with his first success as an NHL head coach coming way back in 2009, the Medford native relished the chance to start over and try to help a slumping Bruins team find its footing.
Thursday’s home game was a step in the right direction, with Boston earning its first win since Nov. 12 with a 1-0 victory over the Utah Hockey Club.
“Pretty good. I’m not going to lie to you. Obviously it felt good,” Sacco said of earning his first official victory as Boston’s head coach. “It was even more important for our guys to get a win: 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 tonight that really brought some energy to our group, lifting the bench at certain points during the game. And just a good effort from our boys. They have really dug in.”
A one-goal win against a sub-.500 team like Utah doesn’t mean a midseason surge is imminent for an underperforming Boston squad.
But Boston did control most of Thursday’s game on Causeway Street — upping their pace and battle level through winning foot races and scrambling to bounce pucks off the boards.
While Joonas Korpisalo held strong with a 21-save shutout, Boston limited Utah to just two high-risk scoring chances all evening in 5-on-5 play.
“You still hate the situation that had to arise for us to respond that way,” Brad Marchand acknowledged. “It was a good game tonight, but it’s one game. Our thing was, we’ve done this before. We played a good game, and we let it down a little bit.
“So we have to keep building and understand how important it is to put 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 definitely a fun evening.”
If the Bruins want to get back on track, they’ll need their power play and star players to find traction.
Thursday was a positive development, with Elias Lindholm converting on the power play for his first goal since October 12.
Although the Bruins’ man advantage was capitalized only once in seven power-play bids, Boston did generate 18 shots on goal in 10:30 of 5-on-4 replays.
“When things like this happen, it’s unfortunate,” Lindholm said of Montgomery’s firing. “It’s a wake-up call for everyone. We didn’t play well enough, and obviously I’m hard on myself.
“I’m probably the hardest one there is on myself, and I know when I’m playing bad. I know when I’m playing well. And obviously there have been too many bad games for me this year. So it’s time for a reset and hopefully I can build some confidence and help the team move forward.”
Sacco and his reworked staff still have plenty of work to do going forward.
But two points is still two points. Sacco will get it, along with the game puck, after helping Boston get into the win column.
“The locker room had a good atmosphere,” Sacco said of the mood after the game. “It was alive.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer for the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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