CONDENSED GAME: Boston Bruins vs. Utah Mammoth – 12/16/2025

CONDENSED GAME: Boston Bruins vs. Utah Mammoth – 12/16/2025

Live from TD Garden in Boston, MASSACHUSETTS. Welcome to Boston Bruins hockey. I’m Nessen. Tonight, we kick off garden party week as the Bruins welcome the Utah Mammoth into town to start a fivegame home stand before the holiday break. Did someone say garden party? We got a party UP HERE IN THE BOOTH. HELLO AGAIN, EVERYBODY. Along with Andy Brickley and Andrew Raycraft, I’m Jud Sarat. He isn’t Martin Bruner, but to your point, Brick, if it’s that easy, any National Hockey League play goal, he’s going to go out there and make a play, and it’s not you’re not going to spend any time in the offensive zone. O’Brien kicks the puck into the corner. Cari trying to dig it free. O’Brien set it out IN FRONT. JAMMED at Swayman will grab it with the glove. Yeah, it looked like Stenland got his stick in there and that loose puck right at the top of the paint. You know, looked like uh Zidorov was going to make a play that he makes all the time. He out muscles guys. He positions his body and then he makes the pass. Fanned on the pass attempt led to the turnover. Swayman makes the stop. >> Yeah, and Swayman does a good job cutting that initial pass off from behind the net with his paddle down on the ice. Keeps it away. That initial play and is able to get squared up for that second opportunity. Nice start for Swayman. Backhanded down low by Zaka Bustadino trying to win a puck. Peturka tripped up. We’re going to have a penalty here on the Bruins. Yeah, it looked like Boston was going to get a little something going here in the offensive zone, but the stick work by Zaka is going to send him in the box for a trip. The puck’s along the boards. Perurk has got it. Zach is almost coming in from behind a little bit with his stick. It’s not a lot there, but enough to knock Burk off his feet. Brewer short-handed. Puck drilled OUT IN FRONT. SWIMING THE STOP, BUT A GOOD DEFLECTION. Utah recovers the puck. Flip to Hayden out to the corner. Boot wings it up top. JERSEY OUT IN FRONT. THEY SCORE. It looked like it went off Barrett Hayden and Utah with a late power play goal will take a one- nothing lead. There’s a question in the in the building, Jud. You know, the puck has never come out of the offensive zone on this power play. And even though there was a stoppage of play and a face off where the puck went out of play, you go back to the original entry on the power play and wasn’t on side. And I don’t know if that’s something you can challenge after there’s been a stoppage of play and a restart of of the game. But we talk about the talent that they can roll out. That first unit, they had a couple of looks. They misfired on a couple of one-timers. They didn’t do a ton. But that’s what you need. You need depth scoring and you need guys that get second power play time to be effective. Jersey around a couple of checks and finally lost it. And now Geeki bangs it ahead looking for posture offside. And now it looked like Jersey took exception of posture not firing that puck, but he shot it well before he heard the whistle. Little more conversation going on between 88 and that Utah bench. Yeah, I mean it’s a little bit of a later backhand, but again it’s David Pastnack, too. Leave him alone. David took exception just as much as as Jersey did getting in his way. That wasn’t even on net. >> Dangerous wicked back. >> Yeah, the old days they would have wasted the goalie would have taken it in the face. Hey, he’s starting to pick up here a little bit for the Bruins. Now Lenol LEFT OF THE CAGE SHUTTERED. OH, MITTEN JUST MISSED IT. And I think he GOT A TUG AND THAT’S WHY IT’S GOING TO BE A CHOP HERE ON THE MAMMOTH. YEAH, I wasn’t sure if they were calling the chop on Mitten or if it was on Lindholm when he released the pass. Well, Purka is the guilty party. Zaka almost lost it. Brings it in. Post across. Geeki plays it off the wall. He has to settle it. ZAKA OUT IN FRONT. POST ACROSS. GEEKI. HE SCORES. Long and Geeki had time to pick his spot AND HE SNAPS IT HOME. A POWER PLAY GOAL. BRUINS ONE. WELL, raising you. You use the word connected. a couple of times this first period because the Bruins haven’t been playing connected. Well, they were connected right here. Short little passes, the most effective in the game, especially when you’re creating two-on-ones. And then it opens up the longer distance seam pass from past to Geeki. That’s a nice use of use of Lindholm down deep. It was started by Geeki and then Geeki gets rewarded for making a real good first pass to get open and finish the play. Great job by Elias Lindholm being close to the net being a shot threat but then finding David on the backside and then of course David’s vision to Morgan Geeki through the seam is is another level a flip to Post pulls UP TO THE SLOT TOUCH TO GEEKI THREW IT OUT IN FRONT MAKAVOY COULDN’T SNAG IT GEEKY FIRES TRAPS IT AND covers it opportunities at both ends of the eyes with Last chance for Boston, but prior to that, it was just a little crisscross in the offensive zone right here. The pull up and you can see that Mason Laurai gets caught in that man-on-man switch. The communication not there and allows the net drive. Swayman’s got to keep it out. Puck bounced around through the traffic and then the Bruins. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective in the offensive end. SCHMIDT TO KELLER GAVE IT AWAY. Castelik trying to keep it away from Schmidt. 18 seconds left in the period. UP TOP TO MAKAVOY. FIRES. BLOCKED. Look out. Here’s Keller. Those two were teammates as Terriers. MACKOY ABLE TO RECOVER. OH, SIDOROV STEPPED UP AND SEPARATED SCHMOLZ. AND THEN SCHMOLZ WITH A CHOP. AND SEDOROV TAKES exception as we close out the opening 20 minutes. That should add a little bit of flavor. each team with a power play goal in the first. Lenovo 20 points in 23 games this year, make it 21 and 24 after he helped set up the power play goal in the first. Zidorov popping out wings IT OUT IN FRONT. KIKI scores a set face OFF PLAY AND Kiki out in front steps it home. Bruins two mammoth one. Less than 30 seconds in and we’ve already seen great detail from the Bruins winning faceoffs. Everybody knows their route. People getting open without the pump. Plays with purpose. I mean, this is a well executed play in the offensive zone off a faceoff win with a netfront presence and a second chance. Geeky again. >> Well, Brick, you asked for detail and you just said it. Two faceoff plays in 23 seconds. A great one off the center ice draw and then an even better one in the offensive zone. Puts the Bruins up 2-1. >> Here’s Lyn. Carries back to the tied up there. Flip to the middle. comes right back to the Bruins now. Steves fires. Taken in by Vanichek. He’ll hold for a draw. >> You go back. The Bruins had a potential twoon-one with Zach and Milstat, but it was the maid in the neutral zone. Win a puck. It’s exactly what uh does and then he has the vision and the patience and the and the good hockey IQ to make a nice little short pass to Zaka streaking through the neutral zone. Zaka tried to go sauce across the ice looking for Middlestead on the net drive. Just defended. Bruins change personnel. Now Lynholm Zaka tips around A CHECK TO POST FIRES. VANICHEK FOUGHT IT OFF. Bruins recover. ZADOROV TO THE MIDDLE. Lindholm geeky only one career hattick. off a leg back to Geeki Lynholm looking for a tip. Sails to the corner. Roach trying to tire this crew out. POST OUT IN FRONT OFF A LEG. Utah hasn’t gained possession. CENTERED LOOKING FOR ZAKA BACK DOOR AND FINALLY O’BRIEN GETS POSSESSION and touches the puck as Sidorov stands over the top of him. The stripe shirt separate those two guys. Zaka an area pass. Hustadinov enters. Shakes, spins, looks across. Got an option far side. Sergeev almost had a steal and inadvertently cleared back into the Bruins zone by Hustadino. Peak. 18 seconds left. Almost lost it. Tailed by Carone. Middle stack got a piece of it. Vanichek has to play it. 10 seconds left. Marino spun away from the Hustadinov check. Gunther. 3 seconds remaining. Carone collides with Peak. And that’s going to do it for the middle frame where the Bruins score the only goal and outshoot the Mammoth 8-2. You were looking for better details from the Bruins in period 2. Right from the opening faceoff, you got it. Their defense was tight. You’d think they’d have more than a onegoal lead the way they played in the second. >> You would also think they’d have more than eight shots. They were dominant. They had eight high danger opportunities in that first. A great job. Close misses, but great details, great momentum going into the third. Jud Mackoy grabbed by Keller up top. Gumper. Keller takes a look. head right of the net. KELLER SHOOTS. SWAYMAN SQUARES UP AND TRAPS it in his blocker. >> Great save by Jeremy Swayman, but a good job by the killers taking all the other options away so Jeremy can take extra space, get to the top of the cir, top of his crease, and take that shot one up rather than having to worry about a play on the back side. You’re going to have to make a save at some time on most power play opportunities. That’s the save you’re looking for because he has no options. Goender can read. Just you and me. Try and beat me. Swimman with the save. Carone, he’ll wheel his way over the line. He was a healthy scratch a number of times last year and he just ran into Sedor and got the worst of it. Cole keeps the puck in. He’ll hack it to the corner. We played five minutes here in the third. Same score. Twoonone. Mitten with Asimov. Mitten shoots. LOCKER SAVE made by Vanichek. Great two-on-one opportunity involving Fraser Mitten. >> It was. And Frasier, we see him again. We talked so much, Rick, about how good he is in his defensive zone. It starts in the defensive zone. He picks a puck off just inside of his own blue line and gets on his horse. We’ve seen him score a low blocker earlier in the season on that twoon-one. That time, VTEC Banichek makes a nice save. Makamoy ahead to Middlestaff off the Tob is played. Give it away. MAKAVOY IN FRONT. IT’S TIP AND JUGGLED BY VANICHEK. HUSTADINOV GOT IT TO change directions. Mustadinov had options. You know, he doesn’t know what’s around him. He’s not sure how much time he has. So, he doesn’t want this opportunity to disappear. So he takes that little shuttle pass shot if you want to call it that from Charlie Makavoy and he just goes for the elevated redirect that Vanichek handles. >> Yeah, it’s real easy from up here but because Makavoy was so quick getting it off the stick. It did give Badino a little bit more time than he thought out in front. >> Spun it to the far point. with a drive that got blocked. He got Middlestead of Vice grabs it. GOT A GUY CUTTING TO THE SLOT AND FIRES JUST WIDE. MIDDLE SNAP. HE SCORES. Middlen took it OFF THE ENDBOARDS. DRILLED IT HOME AND HE takes exception TO ONE OF THE UTAH PLAYERS. GUNTHER GETTING INTO THAT CELEBRATION. BRUINS THREE. MAMMOTH ONE. When Middlestead gets this puck up by the offensive blue line, you’re wondering, is he going to try to throw a backhand pass into the middle of the ice and try to find his teammates streaking towards the goal at Zidorov, but no, he holds it for an extra second. He finds Zacha for that catch and release which just misses but because of the angle that he shoots the puck from. It’s able to come off the backboards to an open middle step with some net. Here’s Postnock with a steal up top. Hooks a pass to Geeki. AN OPTION FAR SIDE L TO MACKOY CENTERED. GEEKI GOING FOR THE HATTICK. HOOK CHECKED AWAY BY VANICHEK. What a finish that would have been. lost 3-2 in October. Lost an ASM. He’ll speed his WAY IN AROUND. BACK HAND. He scores. That’s life. A HEALTHY STRETCH LAST WEEK. A HUGE GOAL HERE TONIGHT. BRUINS FOURTH ONE. You get a pretty good idea of his quickness on this play. Bruins do a decent job back in the defensive zone in their coverage. They force the turnover when Mana tries to make a play out by the blue line and AC just took off. Wins a foot race, wins a balance battle, attacks the net and shows great poise on the back end. >> Well, and he does a great job beating VTEC Vanichek to that back post. to two. Once he gets matted down to the ice, he takes that speed, freezes Vanichek, goes backhand around the goalender. 4-1 Bruins. The Bruins are going to improve to 20 and 14 here on home ice. Best record in the Eastern Conference at 12 and five. Jersey walks it ahead. Schmaltz to Keller across that pass denied by Lynholm. 35 seconds left. Mitten has it. Glance off him. Steves with a hit out in the neutral zone and Schmaltz GAVE HIM A CHOP. STEVES TAKES EXCEPTION. And we got a little excitement at the end of the game. Jersey grabs a hold of somebody. The Turk is there. Oh, Brian. He’s starting to throw some right hands. AC grabs somebody. Dery wrestling around now with Ste. O’BRIEN HELD BACK by the linesman. This is all between the benches and the ulog is out. Well, Steve’s playing the game all the way to the buzzer. See he has a chance to make body contact. So he takes it. Schmals didn’t like it and he gave him a two-hander in the back of the leg. Little subtle body contact there. Slash to the back of the leg with his no equipment. >> There’s multiple misconducts on both sides. >> And that will always draw a crowd. >> Too many slashes. Oh, Liam O’Brien wanted to get at somebody. Sodestrom Corali. Soderstrom. He’ll hold and wait. 5 seconds remaining. Corali chloride centered and it just missed and the horn sounds. So the Bruins tonight get two goals from Morgan Geeky. Jeremy Swimman. Superb and they start an important fivegame home stand with a 4-1 win over the Utah Mammoth. Really love the Bruins detail starting with the beginning of the second period and they continue to impress in their ability to close out games so they take leads into the third. And guys, the big number for me is 8- one now in their last nine losses in the following game. Good teams don’t lose twice in this league. And the Boston Bruins are proving that they’re a good team over the last two months of the season.

Highlights from the Boston Bruins game against the Utah Mammoth on December 16, 2025.