Boston Bruins Get Back On Track With 7-3 Win Over Senators

With television cameras following them around and the Winter Classic on the horizon, it would have been easy for the Boston Bruins to overlook Tuesday’s date with the Ottawa Senators. Instead, they snapped a three-game losing streak with a comfortable 7-3 win over the Senators.

The star of the night was Massachusetts native Jimmy Hayes, who recorded a hat trick on the same day his brother (New York Rangers center Kevin) was dropped from the line-up.

“It’s a dream come true and it’s a pretty cool feeling,” said Hayes. “It’s always fun to score a hat trick in any league. To do it in the NHL for your hometown team is great.”

Patrice Bergeron and Matt Belesky each netted two for the Bruins as well. “It was a great example of how we need to win games,” Bergeron said. “I thought we did a good job to keep pushing and keep pressing to try and go on the offensive and keep scoring goals. That’s your best defense sometimes.”

The scoring was followed by fisticuffs, as the final minute of the contest saw four fighting majors and six game misconducts handed out. Senators coach Dave Cameron insisted that he wasn’t trying to spark a brawl by sending his tough guys on the ice, though.

“I’m going to play the guys that normally I play at the end of a game when the score is out of hand,” he said. “My high-end guys play high-end minutes. Why would I have them out there when I play tomorrow? So no, I wasn’t trying to send a message.”

Cameron’s temper was also frayed by a low hit that Brad Marchand laid on Senators defenseman Matt Boroweicki. “That’s not up to me,” the coach said of possible supplemental discipline. “Phone the league and ask the league.”

Photo: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins celebrates with his teammates after scoring against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 4, 2015 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)