BOSTON– No David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy? No problem for the Boston Bruins.

While still without their top two players, the Bruins fell back on their defensive identity on Saturday night at TD Garden, grinding the high-flying New Jersey Devils into dust en route to a 4-1 victory.

“It’s all about structure,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “The system we play, the structure we play, when everyone buys in, a lot of times, it doesn’t matter who’s in and out. Of course, you still need good players, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve seen that movie before.  There’s nothing we can do with injuries. But I think the guys know that they can run out that system, and that it works, especially when guys are out, too.”

The Bruins landed just 21 shots on net, their lowest total in a single game this season, and we’re largely outplayed for the majority of the night.

Still, though, they never trailed. Jeremy Swayman made 29 saves on 30 shots to help Boston capture its first set of back-to-back wins in over three weeks.

“That’s important at this stage [of the season], especially before Christmas, knowing that we can play consistently well and get results from it” said Swayman. “It’s something that we can definitely build on. We know that this league can humble us, so every game is important. The points are obviously really important at this time of year, so that’s just our mindset.”

It took a while for the Bruins to get their game early on, but they eventually struck first with a goal from Fraser Minten at 17:32. 

After winning a battle for the puck in the corner, Mark Kastelic set up Minten for a one-timer that he snapped past New Jersey netminder Jake Allen from one knee for his fourth goal of the season and first in 13 games.

The lead, though, did not last.

Fifty-seven seconds following Minten’s goal, Timo Meier answered back for the Devils, sending the two teams to the dressing rooms tied 1-1. 

But like the lead before it, the stalemate didn’t stick around.

Morgan Geekie broke the stalemate 1:12 into the middle frame, putting Boston back ahead with his team-leading 22nd goal of the year.

“He doesn’t need many chances,” Sturm said of Geekie. “That’s what goalscorers do, they don’t need much, especially him. When things are going in, they feel really good, and that’s what exactly happened today.”

Even with the lead in hand, Boston’s grasp on it was far from firm. At least not until Casey Mittelstadt provided a bit of insurance with under four minutes left to play, connecting with Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson on a beautiful display of passing to pocket his sixth goal of the year.

If that wasn’t enough already, Andrew Peeke collected his first goal of the season when he hit an empty-net with 2:41 remaining, sealing the victory for Boston.

“I’m very proud of my team,” said Sturm. “It’s always a group effort to do that. I can have the greatest plan and system, whatever it is, but if they don’t buy in, it’s kind of almost useless. I got that from my guys. I’m directing them, guiding them, and teaching them, but those are the guys who get it done.”

With a record of 17-13-0, the Bruins will embark on a three-game road-trip beginning on Tuesday in St. Louis.

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