Going into their game on Saturday night at the TD Garden against the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins knew they were facing a desperate team. The Devils dropped their last two games to the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights by a shutout.
New Jersey got the monkey off its back with a first-period goal by Timo Meier that tied the game, but Boston scored the last three in a win to improve to 17-13-0 on the season. It was the first back-to-back win for the Black and Gold in a month since their winning streak in November. Here are three takeaways from Boston’s win in the first of three matchups with New Jersey.
3 Bruins takeaways from win over Devils1. Jeremy Swayman comes up big, again
New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins | Richard T Gagnon/GettyImages
After Joonas Korpisalo beat the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, Jeremy Swayman was back between the pipes against the Devils and came up huge once again. He made 29 saves on 30 shots, with his biggest save coming late in the third period. With Boston leading 2-1, Connor Brown was alone at the post, and he made a skate save. Casey Mittlestadt and Andrew Peeke sealed the win.
2. Morgan Geekie scores again
New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins | Richard T Gagnon/GettyImages
Another game, another Morgan Geekie goal. Early in the second period, he scored his 22nd goal, 1:12 into the period, and one-timed an Elias Lindholm pass into the net. He remains hot on the heels of Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL lead, and he’s continuing to do it without David Pastrnak in the lineup.
3. Bruins picked up a much-needed win
New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins | Richard T Gagnon/GettyImages
Aside from Mittlestadt, Peeke, and Geekie scoring, Fraser Minten opened the scoring for the Bruins with a first-period goal. It wasn’t always pretty against the Devils, as there were times where Boston struggled to get the puck out of their zone, but Swayman was up to the challenge to keep New Jersey at bay. Now the Black and Gold hit the road for a three-game road trip against the Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild in what will be a difficult week on the road. This was a huge result for Marco Sturm’s team.
Boston is 5-5 since Charlie McAvoy was injured last month against the Montreal Canadiens, and 3-2 since Pastrnak was injured. Continuing to tread water until they get healthy is key for the Bruins as we head into the middle of December.