Swayman earns his third shutout of the season with 35 saves.
An all-around effort from the Boston Bruins, capped with a 35-save night from Jeremy Swayman, led to their 3-0 blanking of the Minnesota Wild at the TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Swayman earned his third shutout of the season in the win as his teammates play some determined hockey down this stretch.
“It takes a whole team in front of me to do their job and that’s what they did tonight, blocking shots, making sure they’re clearing rebounds, and it was a really great team effort for us to build on,” Swayman said.
The Bruins got off to a slower start in the first period as the first seven or so minutes were led by Minnesota. But then momentum shifted to the Bruins’ favor.
While the Bruins didn’t get on the board in the first, they had sustained offensive-zone time and generated chances.
The Bruins capitalized on those chances in the second period as Charlie McAvoy tipped in a David Pastrnak shot and Matt Poitras connected with Trent Frederic for a two-goal lead. Poitras earned an assist on both goals.
One of Swayman’s arguably biggest saves of the game came as the second period was winding down and he made a glove save on Matt Boldy. The save followed Frederic’s tally and kept it a 2-0 game heading into the third period.
Penalties in the third allowed the Wild to gain some ground offensively and pressure Swayman, but the penalty kill was able to close out the game in the final 20 minutes before Morgan Geekie added an insurance goal.
“They were focused, and digging in the third period like we did with those kills,” Interim head coach Joe Sacco said.
Here are the highlights!
First period:
Scoreless
Second period:
David Pastrnak let off a long wrist shot which Charlie McAvoy got a piece of and redirected past Marc-Andre Fleury’s blocker at 5:46 of the second period. 1-0 Bruins.
Matt Poitras found Trent Frederic inside the left-wing circle where he sent a wrist shot past Fleury’s glove at 14:16 of the second period. 2-0 Bruins.
Third period:
Morgan Geekie scored an empty netter at 19:14 of the third period. Final score: 3-0 Bruins.
Game notes
- It may seem obvious to say, but the Bruins really built upon their game in the second period. The whole team was engaged keeping plays alive, winning puck battles and getting involved. Sacco said postgame he felt the defense was activated in the middle frame, playing down low and receiving support from the forwards like on McAvoy’s opening goal.
- Pastrnak’s assist on McAvoy’s goal extended his point streak to 11 games.
- Poitras now has four assists in his last two games. Poitras continues to be an asset really at the right time for the Bruins as they make this push before the 4 Nations break. He’s making heads up plays, advancing the puck and finding his linemates, no matter who he is playing with.
- “I like his compete level,” Sacco said about Poitras postgame. “He wants to make a difference. That’s what I like about his game. Besides the fact that he’s collecting some points, he’s competitive.”
- Sacco added the team wants to see younger guys like Poitras and Mason Lohrei make a push in their game to contribute. “You need some of those young players to push from from within, and they’re doing that right now,” Sacco said.
- Sacco, along with Swayman, Brandon Carlo and Matt Poitras postgame said they are treating these last handful of games before the break as playoff hockey. “Our opponents have brought some serious competition, so everyone’s fighting for points,” Swayman said. “It’s our job to rise to the occasion and make sure that we’re getting really important points coming down the stretch.”
- “We’re challenging ourselves in a different way, trying to play more of a playoff hockey because we’re in that boat right now,” Carlo said. “Each and every night is meaningful and that’s fun to be playing that kind of hockey at this point in the year.”
- The Bruins will hit the road to face the New York Rangers Wednesday night at 7 p.m.