Everyone except for arguably the three guys who should have been among the biggest contributors. Even as the Bruins piled up the wins, its nominal top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton had been producing like anything but a first-line unit.
That all changed on the final night of the month, with that trio combining for three goals and seven points to cap a 12-0-1 November with a 6-3 win over the Leafs in Toronto on Wednesday.
"Every night it seems like someone else is stepping up and playing big," Lucic said. "And that's what you need, especially in a long season like this. You can't just count on the same guys. For tonight, it was good that our line was able to step up after a rough couple of games."
It had been a bit longer than just a couple of nights. Lucic had gone eight games without a goal before scoring a pair in Wednesday's win. Krejci's drought stretched back nine games before he scored on Wednesday. He had managed just three points and was a minus-2 in those nine games, but finished Wednesday with three points and a plus-2. Horton also chipped in two assists and was a plus two after managing just one point in his previous four games.
"I think we're battling through it," Krejci said. "We had a good night. The team is winning, so we're having fun in the room and tonight the luck was on our side and hopefully we can keep it going next game."
While the points hadn't been there for the Bruins' top line in recent games, they had been creating chances. That kept Bruins coach Claude Julien from becoming too concerned with their struggles, and kept him from splitting them up in an effort to get them going.
That patience was rewarded on Wednesday. Lucic got Boston on the board in the first with a power-play goal from Tyler Seguin and Zdeno Chara, but the linemates combined for three more scores later in the game.
Krejci broke his drought in the second period when he banged home a rebound in front after a strong drive to the net down the left wing by Horton, and Horton and Krejci each assisted on Chara's goal later in the period. In the third, Krejci set up behind the Toronto net, then came out on the right side and fed Lucic in front for an easy tap-in at the top of the crease for a huge insurance goal to make it 5-3 with 4:39 left.
"They finished," Julien said. "We've talked about it the last couple of days how at least they're getting opportunities. The biggest thing was the finish and it wasn't there. They did that tonight and they got rewarded for it. They played a big game for us."
In addition to the seven points, the trio combined for eight shots, and had 15 attempted shots as they buzzed around the Toronto zone for much of the night. As is usually the case when that combination is successful, they were also physical. They combined for six hits and Horton continued his long-running feud with Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
They didn't drop the gloves as they did twice last season, by the running battle helped get Horton emotionally engaged and brought out one of his best efforts of the season. If the Bruins can keep that unit physically involved and productive like that on a consistent basis, then November may not be the only memorable month for this team this season.
