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Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Bruins shut down Devils for 3-0 matinee win

Author Matt Dolloff
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 15: James Van Riemsdyk #21 of the Boston Bruins takes a shot on goal against Nico Daws #50 of the New Jersey Devils during the first period at TD Garden on January 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle scored for the Boston Bruins on Monday afternoon, as part of a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in a Martin Luther King Day matinée at TD Garden. Pastrnak also logged an assist in the game, as he crossed the 60-point mark for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped all 31 Devils shots for his 12th career shutout. Swayman has won two starts in a row after suffering four straight losses.

The Bruins out-shot the Devils 16-8 in the first period, including the first five shots on goal of the game. James van Riemsdyk thought he had his eighth goal of the season after finishing a nifty move at the net-front on a Bruins power play, but the score got called back on review after the Devils challenged for offside. So, the teams ended up scoreless at the first intermission.

However, just 30 seconds into the second period, the B’s would get the first goal of the game anyway. After Brad Marchand put on the brakes down the half boards, he backhanded the puck to Coyle, who finished with a slick backhand loft of his own to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

The goal was Coyle’s 15th of the season, putting him on pace for what would be a career-best 29.

Pastrnak grabbed the second goal at the 3:22 mark of the third period during a power play. The Bruins created chaos around the Devils net with pure forechecking, passing, and puck management, and Pastrnak ultimately finished a cross-ice feed from Charlie McAvoy with a wicked one-timer.

Trent Frederic won a footrace to the puck to poke home an empty-net goal, icing the game for good. Frederic now has 13 goals on the season, just four shy of his career high of 17.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 26-8-9 on the season, maintaining their lead atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. They remain the only team in the National Hockey League with single-digit regulation losses.

Up Next: The Bruins get two days between games before their homestand continues Thursday night, when the Colorado Avalanche come to TD Garden for a rematch of last Tuesday’s game.

Get complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.

3 Stars: Bruins struggle to generate enough in latest setback

Let’s be real: Perspective can be a reeeeeeeeal bitch.

And perspective is one of those things that nobody, especially when the ears are hot and the blood is boiling, wants to have in the heat of the moment. Sometimes we just want to be pissed off, stomp around, and maybe even throw a snowball or two. Maybe even torch a car, or at the very least fire off a tweet you delete approximately 14 seconds after pressing send. I get it. Been there. Done that.

But if I told at 9:55 p.m. on Thursday night that the Bruins were going to grab a point against the defending Stanley Cup champions (and in their building) with a Jesper Boqvist in their top six, Parker Wotherspoon in their top four, and just one goal of support for netminder Jeremy Swayman, would you have taken that deal? 100 percent. Not even 99, but 100. You don’t need Aldo Raine and Smithson Utivich to convince you that that’s a good deal.

Yes, even after a miscommunication in overtime gave the Golden Knights the easiest-looking 2-on-1 you’ll see this year, you’d take that deal. (Again, I’m offering you this deal before the puck dropped. Perspective, you see.)

  • So while Boston’s third straight ‘OTL’ may have led to some snowballs (good luck finding one) and deleted tweets, the Black and Gold’s ability to grab a point in this one is worth noting. It not only kept them in first place in the Atlantic Division over those surging Florida Panthers (winners of nine in a row), but it also pushed the Bruins to 0-0-3 on this road trip, giving the Bruins three of a possible six points on this trip so far. That .500 mark was always a possibility (or likely outcome) given it was a 3-in-4 with stops in both Colorado and Vegas, and if anything, the Bruins are simply following the most likely script.

    Of course, if there’s one thing to take away from this game, it came before the overtime frame, as this was a night where the Bruins failed to generate enough against a stout Vegas defense. And that, coupled with a parade to the penalty box for entirely-too-many stick infractions, was a recipe for disaster.

    A disaster that somehow led to a point for the Bruins, mind you. Perspective, baby.

    Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a loss in Vegas…

  • No. 3 Star: Matt Grzelcyk

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (48) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (48) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Finally, Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has something to feel good about.

    Listen, even the most ardent Grzelcyk supporter you know has had a tough time of late, with the 5-foot-9 defenseman simply not looking like himself for large stretches this year, and especially since returning from injury. There’s been too many nights where Grzelcyk’s transition game hasn’t been where it needs to be for the Bruins to maximize his skill set. Even his reunions with longtime pairing partner Charlie McAvoy have struggled to click at their usual rate at various points this season.

    But Thursday night in Vegas featured one of Grzelcyk’s best performances to date, as it was Grzelcyk who scored Boston’s lone goal in this contest, and off a quick release that was good for his second goal of the campaign and his first goal in 19 games.

    And in addition to the goal, Grzelcyk also had the analytics working in his favor, as the Black and Gold outshot Vegas by a 15-5 margin during No. 48’s five-on-five, on-ice sample (15:21 of time on ice).

    With Derek Forbort out, Mason Lohrei in a true first-year situation, and Hampus Lindholm going through some high highs and low lows, getting Grzelcyk rolling would provide a huge lift to Boston’s left side.

  • No. 2 Star: Logan Thompson

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) celebrates with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (36) after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins in overtime to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) celebrates with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (36) after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins in overtime to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Dealing with an illness and with the Golden Knights’ goaltending depth chart absolutely ravaged by injuries, Logan Thompson decided to go full Michael Jordan flu game in this one, with a 32-of-33 effort.

    Thompson was especially lethal in high-danger situations, too, with the 26-year-old credited with a perfect 8-for-8 line on high-danger shots at all-situational play, according to Natural Stat Trick.

  • No. 1 Star: Jack Eichel

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81), Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev (49) and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Another Vegas talent that had to battle through it tonight, Jack Eichel scored the power-play goal that put Vegas up in the third period and came through with the secondary assist on the Knights’ overtime winner for a two-point effort against his hometown team.

    The North Chelmsford, Mass. native is up to seven goals and 16 points in 18 career head-to-heads against the Bruins.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.

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