Bruins blank Utah to win Sacco's debut as coach

BOSTON (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots, Elias Lindholm scored the game’s only goal, and the Boston Bruins beat the Utah Hockey Club 1-0 on Thursday night in their first game since the team fired coach Jim Montgomery and named Joe Sacco as interim coach.

The win snapped Boston's three-game losing streak. Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for Utah, which has now lost three straight.

After coming up empty on their first four power-play opportunities, the Bruins struck on their fifth extra-man chance when Lindholm chipped in a rebound for his third goal of the season with 7:19 left in the second period.

Boston thought it had the game sealed when David Pastrnak fired into an open net with 58.8 seconds to play, but the goal was taken off the board after a video review.

Utah: On the first game of a four-game road trip, Utah went 0 for 4 on the power play with the last chance coming with 6:56 remaining.

Bruins: The Bruins heard a few boos from the crowd after failing on all three of their power-play chances in the first period. Sacco got his first win as a head coach since 2014 when he was with the Colorado Avalanche.

The scoring chance that led to Lindholm cleaning up a rebound began when Pastrnak sent a pass from the circle to Brad Marchand, who was stationed in front of the net. Both were credited with assists on Lindholm’s goal.

The NHL’s two most penalized teams lived up to their reputation. Ranked first in penalty minutes entering Thursday’s game, Boston was penalized four times. Ranked second in penalty minutes, Utah went to the box three times in the first period and seven for the game.

Utah: Travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Boston: Visits Detroit on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl