BOSTON – The Boston Bruins’ new era under interim head coach Joe Sacco officially kicked off on Thursday night with a 1-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club at TD Garden.

Sacco told reporters after his first practice on Wednesday that in order for the team to break out of their slump, he wanted the Bruins to become a “tough team to play against” again.

“I want teams to know that it will be difficult to score goals against us,” Sacco said. “Our offense will come. There are plenty of players here who can score goals.”

The Bruins showed up to play from the opening faceoff and gave Sacco his first win at the helm.

Here are three observations from the Black and Gold victory.

POWER PLAY
Although the Bruins couldn’t solve Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka in the first period, Boston registered nine shots on goal across three power play opportunities.

Sacco changed the power play by adding Georgii Merkulov to the top unit with David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy. The second unit consisted of Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Justin Brazeau, Morgan Geekie and Mason Lohrei.

In the second period, Sacco substituted Merkulov and Zacha and the Bruins peppered Vejmelka with four shots on their first opportunity.

The Bruins Finally cashed in when Lindholm collected the loose puck in front of the crease for a layup count.

Boston had more shots on the power play (18) than at even strength (13)

HARDER TO PLAY AGAINST
The Bruins certainly showed that they can be tough to play against as they hold Utah to just thirteen shots in the first 40 minutes of play. Boston also showed its strength with 18 hits to Utah’s six.

Joonas Korpisalo turned aside all 21 Utah shots he faced, including three on the power play, for his second shutout of the season.

The physical play was led by Mark Kastelic, who completely destroyed Robert Bortozzu in the second fight between the two in the second frame, and Nikita Zadorov who continued to battle Lawson Crouse.

SHOT FIRST MENTALITY
Not only did the Bruins limit Utah in offensive opportunities, Boston also created their own offense by firing 31 shots on goal.

Pastrnak, who had zero shots on goal in Boston’s 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, had five in the game, along with 10 attempts. The Bruins sniper thought he had scored his ninth goal of the season, but the goal was negated because Pastrnak picked up the puck with a high stick.

The Bruins will look to build on the win when they travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Saturday.