Bruins Wrap: Boston Keeps Rangers At Bay, Win Fourth Straight
The Boston Bruins completed a New York road trip sweep with a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
The Bruins improved their NHL-best record to 34-5-4, while the Rangers fell to 25-13-8 on their season.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
While the Bruins took the ice against the NHL’s defending Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin, that wouldn’t be enough to stump Boston en route to its fourth straight win.
Instead, Jeremy Swayman would highlight the goaltending battle between the Rangers and Bruins. It was a deja vu showing for Swayman, who nearly replicated his perfect performance Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers — his first shutout of the season. Swayman picked up right where he left off and outdueled Shesterkin with flying colors.
This positioned the Bruins’ offense to not require too much scoring production in order for Boston to remain in the win column.
Pavel Zacha, who entered the night with four points in his previous two games, added quickly in the first period. Followed by some beneficial insurance for safety measures, Boston dominated for the better part of all three periods.
The win also improved Boston’s league-best 15-4-1 record on the road.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Swayman was spectacular throughout the night for Boston which began with an 11-save opening period. The 24-year-old kept the Rangers scoreless through two periods to put together a 158:42 shutout streak. Swayman finished with 31 saves.
— Zacha got the offense started with a tip-in goal from a David Krejci shot attempt just 1:19 into the game.
— Patrice Bergeron added the eventual game-decider with a wrist shot score passed Shesterkin. The Bruins captain’s goal tallied the second of the month for Bergeron.
WAGER WATCH
Before the start of the game, DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Zacha serving as the opening scorer at +1800. Zacha cleared those odds within the first two minutes and netted his eighth of the season. A $100 bet on the left wing would’ve resulted in a $1,900 total payout.
UP NEXT ON NESN
After back-to-back games on the road, the Bruins will return to their home ice on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.
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