Usually an anchor of their game, closing out wins in the third period has become a bit of an issue for the Bruins of late.

After blowing a 4-0 third period lead last week against the Panthers, and allowing the game-tying goal with less than a minute left in regulation Saturday against the Capitals, the Bruins have left some key points on the table.

Thanks to a three-goal third period Tuesday, the Bruins closed out a victory against the Devils with an exclamation mark.

“In the last few games we obviously didn’t play 60 minutes. But today, we talked about it after the second period. We played the right way, extended the lead and got the job done,” said center David Krejci who picked up two assists in the victory.

The Bruins took a 2-0 lead into the second a period, a period that saw Blake Coleman cut the Bruins lead in half. With a solid second frame the Devils took some momentum into the third period. But unlike previous instances, securing two points in the final stanza was no issue.

With David Pastrnak and Matt Grzelcyk both scoring their second goals of the night, and Connor Clifton’s insurance goal, the Bruins finally closed out a win.

“We knew what we had to do. We learned from past games, came out in the third and played the right way. If you play the right way, we take care of the little details, we have a good chance to get the next goal and that’s what happened. We extend the lead and the game was pretty much over,” Krejci added.

With the amount of injuries the Bruins have suffered through so far in 2019-20, the “next man up” mentality has been echoed throughout the Bruins dressing room.

Sure, the Bruins have been guided to success with a heavy dose of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Pastrnak, but different players have been stepping up at key times, securing the Bruins title as of the league’s elite teams.

With Torey Krug still nursing an upper-body injury Tuesday night, it was Grzelcyk’s turn to be the next man up, chipping in with his first career regular season two-goal game.

"One of those nights the puck was going in. Sometimes when you're feeling it, things are going your way and you just try to ride that momentum. The puck just seemed to find me tonight,” said Grzelcyk. “But luckily I got some open ice there and was able to shoot to score tonight.”

As an offensive defenseman, Grzelcyk doesn’t bring the same bag of tricks to the table that Krug does, and that’s fine. Krug uses his strong shot and precision passing to cause havoc in the offensive zone while Grzelcyk relies more on his speed and smarts to navigate the neutral zone and make plays happen in the o-zone.

With Krug expected back sooner rather than later, and the injured Kevan Miller and John Moore getting closer to returning by the day, the need to play well on a consistent basis is magnified for young d-men like Grzelcyk and Clifton.

Nights like Tuesday will help the two remain in the lineup.

“He's in a situation where he wants to excel when he's given these opportunities. He's stepped up and he's done a good job. We've said this all along, what's made us a better team the last couple years is internal competition,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said of Grzelcyk.

“Torey comes back, he thinks, 'You know what? I don't want to lose my spot, Grizz [Grzelcyk} is going.’ It pushes the next guy. You need that to be a successful organization. That's why we survive when we have injuries like we do. Next guy goes in and plays well.”

No matter your age, or where you grew up, scoring in the National Hockey League is a good feeling, but finding the back of the net Tuesday was extra special for Clifton who grew up in Long Branch, New Jersey and had around 100 family and friends in attendance for the contest.

"We're stringing together more shifts with our other lines and D-pairs. Cliffy [Clifton] was part of that. We're working with him every day to get back to playing good, hard assertive hockey,” added Cassidy. “It's nice for him to score here, too. Just happens that he's from here, a little extra special. I’m happy for him."

The Bruins finally got some good news on the injury front Tuesday as Jake DeBrusk and Brett Ritchie both returned to the lineup after the two forwards missed the last five contests with lower and upper-body injuries respectively.

Prior to his injury, DeBrusk had two goals in three games, looking like he was about to go on one of those hot streaks we’ve seen from him in the past. Despite failing to find the back of the net against the Devils, DeBrusk looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, nearly scoring on his first shift as he was denied on a breakaway attempt.

He finished the night with three shots in total.

After being labeled as a game-time decision for Tuesday, Bergeron was not on the ice for warmups and missed the contest with the Devils.

But it sounds like Bergeron will be ready to go Thursday night when the Bruins host the Sabres.

"I suspect he'll play Thursday. And I'm not trying to mislead you guys," said Cassidy. "I thought he was closer to playing tonight than not, but we wanted to make sure that he's completely ready to go and then we'll put him in. This extra night will help."

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