Bruins get four second-period goals, beat Devils 5-2
Big guns lead the way in win
Trailing by two goals early in the second period, the Bruins looked like they might have been in store for one of those nights against an offensively explosive young New Jersey Devils.
But then all of sudden, the B’s 35-year-old captain Brad Marchand did what he has so often done in his career, igniting the team with a high-energy shift that led to the B’s first goal. That started a four-goal onslaught in the second and the B’s nailed down the 5-2 win at the Garden.
David Pastrnak (2-13) and Kevin Shattenkirk each scored a pair of goals and Linus Ullmark made 31 saves.
The B’s had not been playing poorly when they were down by a deuce, but they needed the first one to open the floodgates on Jersey, which held them to a goal in their previous meeting. In their second consecutive win, Jake DeBrusk seems to be finally percolating offensively. After picking up a pair of assists in Buffalo on Wednesday, he notched the first goal and added another helper on Saturday.
“I’ve felt this all year. It’s nice to finally be back in that sense of things,” said DeBrusk with a smile. “Obviously, it was a great play by Marchy (on the first goal). Those are chances you don’t want to miss. That was a great play by him and then obviously Pasta was going. I think it was just nice to have a reset on the break and take some time away from the game and enjoy some Christmas spirit and come back with a new fresh face.”
The B’s were left holding their collective breath when No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy left the game with 3:43 left the game with what looked like a left leg injury after he crashed into Linus Ullmark in an attempt to break up a shorthanded bid. But coach Jim Montgomery delivered good news in his post-game presser.
“He’s fine,” said Montgomery, whose team plays in Detroit on Sunday (5 p.m.). “I think he had a little bit of a scare with a stinger of some sort. I don’t know where it was. But he’s walking around. He’s happy right now, so we’re good.”
Much of the first period was evenly played with little extended zone time for either team. The difference was a New Jersey powerplay goal.
Just six seconds after Shattenkirk was whistled for high-sticking, New Jersey captain Nico Hischier put the Devils up by a goal when he finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe play with Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli at 6:03. Hischier took Toffoli’s pass and ripped it over Ullmark’s glove shoulder for the 1-0 advantage.
The B’s started to apply pressure late in the period, at one point pinning the Devils in their own zone while goalie Vitek Vanecek was playing without his stick. The Devils, however, weathered that storm and were able to breathe a little easier when Pastrnak was called for an offensive zone tripping with 1:31 left in the period.
The penalty was killed off, but the Devils made it 2-0 at 1:11 of the second on what looked like a nothing play. Rookie defenseman Luke Hughes withstood a double hit at the end boards in the Devils’ zone by Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha after moving the puck, then followed the play. He took a feed from Toffoli near the Bruin blue line and then beat Ullmark with a long distance wrister, one of the very few soft goals either Bruin goalie has allowed this season.
His teammates would not let him stew over it.
The B’s got on the board at 5:35 when Marchand came out for his shift with his hair on fire. When Vitek Vanecek tried to play the puck behind his net, Marchand stole it from him and tried to feed someone — anyone — out front but there was no Bruin in the immediate vicinity. It didn’t matter. Charlie Coyle tapped the loose puck away from a Jersey defender and Marchand fed DeBrusk on the left wing. DeBrusk took it to the net and beat Vanecek with a backhander that electrified the building. The goal was DeBrusk’s fifth of the season, snapping an 11-game goal-less streak.
“That battle level by the Coyle line on the first goal was immense,” said Montgomery.
The B’s tied it up at 12:51. From his off side, Brandon Carlo sent a diagonal pass down low toward Pastrnak. It rattled around off of Vanecek but Pastrnak was able to put it over the line with a one-handed sweep.
After Marchand (two assists) drew a holding call on Kevin Bahl, the B’s took their first lead of the game at 15:39. Off a quick counter rush, DeBrusk fed Pastrnak, who was just able to drag his back skate to stay on side. Pastrnak had a full head of steam going and Vanecek had little chance as the Bruin star zoomed by him and tucked home a backhander, his 22nd of the year.
Shattenkirk then gave the B’s a 4-2 lead at 17:14 when his shot from the right circle somehow eluded Vanecek, givng the B’s a two-goal cushion going into the third period facing the comeback specialists in the Devils. But there would be no comeback on this night.
After playing some good shut-down defense much of the third period and after McAvoy left the game, Shattenkirk added his second of the game off a Marchand feed to finish off the Devils.