Swayman, Bruins save best for last
McAvoy aids victory in ninth round of shootout
Well, that will make the flight to Edmonton feel a little more first class than business.
Charlie McAvoy scored in the ninth round of the shootout and Jeremy Swayman stopped eight straight shootout bids to lift the Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars Monday afternoon at TD Garden.
The win snapped a four-game skid and allowed Boston (33-12-11) to close what had been a disappointing homestand (2-3-2) on a high note.
Jim Montgomery and Co. now head to Western Canada for three games before closing their four-games-in-six-nights trip in Seattle.
The Bruins mobbed Swayman moments after he robbed former Bruin Craig Smith on Dallas’s final shootout attempt.
Swayman got a piece of Smith’s shot, but the puck trickled through and teetered along the goal line until Swayman swept it away to seal the win.
“It was one of those things where the hockey gods came over and we’re really grateful for that,” said Swayman, who snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 17-6-7. “Obviously Smitty’s a talented player and we miss him tons over here, but really fun to get that experience and win.”
The Bruins (33-12-11) were outplayed for most of the matinee and were outshot, 46-30, forcing Swayman to make 43 saves through regulation and overtime.
“He’s a battler and I think that really showed because they’re a shot-volume team and they take a lot of shots from the point, they got the first two goals on deflections, but it doesn’t deter him,” Montgomery said. “He just keeps fighting. That’s why we call him ‘Bulldog,’ and then in the shootout, he was awesome, right?”
The Bruins battled just to get to overtime, scoring their first goal of the season with the goalie pulled when David Pastrnak whistled McAvoy’s one-timer past Stars goalie Jake Oettinger with 1:45 remaining to tie it at 3.
Disaster was averted in overtime when Swayman denied another former Bruin, Tyler Seguin, twice and Thomas Harley hit a post.
In the shootout, Jason Robertson roofed a backhander over Swayman on Dallas’s first attempt, but the Stars never got another sniff until Smith’s close call.
Brad Marchand, who was honored with a silver stick in a pregame ceremony for reaching 1,000 games, had the game on his stick and ripped a wrister past Oettinger to tie the shootout in the third round.
Oettinger stopped the next five Bruins (Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Trent Frederic, and Jesper Boqvist), all on wristers, before McAvoy deked him off his skates and went top shelf with a backhander for the eventual winner.
It capped a monster game for McAvoy, who played a game-high 29:39, tied for the team high with four hits, and assisted on Boston’s first and last goals.
Montgomery said he relies a lot on instinct selecting shooters when shootouts get lengthy but will take input from others.
“I can tell you that I went with C-Mac. I didn’t like Goalie Bob’s suggestions,” the coach said with a hearty laugh, referring to Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa who may or may not have been lobbying for Swayman or Linus Ullmark.
Similar to Saturday, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead, getting offense from a most unlikely source.
The fourth line, featuring Justin Brazeau at right wing in his NHL debut, started the game and came out flying, with Boqvist scoring on the trio’s second shift.
The Stars tied it when Wyatt Johnston tipped a Harley wrister from the top of the circle to Swayman’s left.
Dallas took the lead when Ryan Suter wristed one through a mass of bodies past Swayman, who never saw the puck.
Brazeau’s storybook 24 hours continued when the big fella connected for his first career goal to even things.
Cruising through the greasy area in front of the crease, Brazeau collected a Boqvist feed and buried it past Oettinger.
Esa Lindell gave Dallas its second lead midway through the third, breaking out with the puck after Derek Forbort had pinched in deep and beating Swayman under the blocker.
That set the stage for Pastrnak’s goal — his 35th on the season — which set the stage for extra hockey.
“That was a big one for us and team effort again, and that’s how we’ve had success this year and always,” Marchand said. “But it’s great to see some guys come up and make an impact that helps and having that young energy and grittiness was big for us tonight.”