Thursday’s victory over the Golden Knights was not a masterpiece. It was hardly a fingerpainting, actually. But it’s not going to be for these depleted Bruins, and Bruce Cassidy is OK with that.

“We’re trying to impose a certain hard to play against, manage the puck, no easy chances against,” Cassidy said after the 2-1 final at TD Garden. “So in effect, you are taking away a bit of their creativity, which is something in the past we’ve tried to let that flourish. It becomes a steep learning curve if you’re learning every night because of that. So we have tempered a bit of the – let’s play more of a north-south game. Until we get our feet under us, figure out exactly what we are in those three lines. And we are starting to see a bit of that, because in fairness, we haven’t been a full lineup from day one. So we’ve been incorporating some of that, but now it’s hammered home even more.”

Cassidy can say what he wants, but the proof that it’s more than just words was found in both Black and Gold goals, with both Riley Nash and Sean Kuraly scoring from the front of the net.

“I think it’s important and that’s what I’ve got to do to help this team push it in the right direction, push the game in our favor and [Thursday] I was lucky enough to find one on the doorstep,” Kuraly said. “But, if you keep going to those spots I think you’ll keep finding them, and I kind of felt it coming, felt the puck coming around the net and kept coming to me. And I think you just keep working and doing the right things and treating the game with respect, it kind of respects you.”

With every centerpiece of each line's identity on the shelf with the exception of Patrice Bergeron (and even he is playing at less than 100 percent), Cassidy has essentially hoped for a team-wide identity of collecting garbage goals and driving to the net. That's by all means the strategy for any team short on skill, and boy do the Bruins fit that bill right now.

And say what you will about the B’s ability to get to the net -- it’s been hit-and-miss in terms of its consistency all season long, really -- but there’s no doubt that it’s there that the Bruins will find their best offensive scoring chances, especially with the lack of high-end skill beyond their first line.

Or especially on nights where the star-studded first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak is held off the board like they were by the Golden Knights on Thursday.

“And we’ve got a top line that’s a threat every night – [Thursday] they were quiet in terms of the score sheet -- but if you look at their ability to change a game offensively, and defensively also, matchup lines, special teams and goaltending, and you hope the rest of the group can contribute 200-foot games and chip in with secondary scoring,” Cassidy acknowledged on Thursday. “That’s what, you know, I think it’s a realistic way to win games. We talked about this the other day – there’s going to be times it might not look pretty but if we can get through those stretches, play through them and then get back on our game, I think [Thursday] was a good example of that.”

Now comes making it the norm.

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