Jeremy Swayman earned his first NHL shutout as the Boston Bruins blanked the New York Islanders, 3-0, tonight at the TD Garden.
Swayman made 25 saves in his fifth start of the season, bringing his NHL record to 4-1.
It was also a big night for the newest Bruins, as Taylor Hall recorded his second goal in two nights and Curtis Lazar picked up his first point as a Bruin with an empty-net goal.
The Bruins opened the scoring with 2.4 seconds left in the first period on David Pastrnak’s first goal in seven games.
From below the goal line, Mike Reilly dished a pass to Pastrnak out front for a one-timer top-shelf past Ilya Sorokin’s glove. 1-0 Bruins.
.@mreilly93 ➡️ @pastrnak96 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/mFk4cY8vTV
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 16, 2021
The Bs defense had some slip ups, but also some good moments. Charlie McAvoy bailed out a misplay by Jeremy Lauzon and pushed an attacking Casey Cizikas to the boards and out of the shooting lane. Connor Clifton also came up big to clear a loose puck from a rebound on the penalty kill.
The Islanders outshot the Bruins 10-8. They capitalized on turnovers by the Bruins in the neutral zone and came out with a stronger forecheck tonight.
Jeremy Swayman was the hero of the first frame and kept the Islanders scoreless.
“He had some really big stops early,” Bruce Cassidy said. “Not a ton of quantity, but really good quality saves.”
The Bruins didn’t get off to their best start like the night before, missing some defensive coverage and letting shots get through to Swayman. But the team turned the game around and ended the period on a high note.
“We found our game later in the first period,” Cassidy said. “Obviously a big play by Reilly to Pastrnak to get us a goal in a period where they [the Islanders] were certainly good early on. Probably a little deflating when you give up a goal that late.
“We started building our game from there,” Cassidy said. “We came out in the second period firing on all cylinders.”
The Bruins jumped into the second period, putting offensive pressure on the Islanders. The fourth line started shooting right away, with Chris Wagner firing away seven seconds into the frame. Then David Krejci’s line built on that momentum and added their own chances which led to the cushion goal.
The Bruins took a 2-0 lead with Taylor Hall’s second goal in two nights at 47 seconds of the second period.
Steven Kampfer sent Hall up ice. On a give-and-go, Krejci returned Hall a pass which he got his stick on to slide the puck through Sorokin’s five-hole. 2-0 Bruins.
Without further ado.#NHLBruins | @hallsy09 pic.twitter.com/SR5a4gsIDv
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 17, 2021
Hall and Krejci were generating pressure from the start of the shift. About 20 seconds prior to the goal, Hall had a chance battling for a rebound. The two continued their newly-found groove throughout the period, as Krejci later set Hall up for a one-timer.
Swayman continued to make big saves. The Bruins had some giveaways in the neutral zone which led the Isles to break into the zone on Swayman. Overall, the Isles seemed to have better puck possession and movement in the neutral zone through.
The Bruins also found themselves shorthanded twice in the second, with Kuraly’s second penalty of the night bleeding into the third period.
The Bruins started the third on the penalty kill, and then closed out the final 20 minutes with two additional penalty kills.
The Bs did better in the defensive zone to end the game, with stronger puck movement behind the net and in the corners. The successful PKs and Swayman’s composure during them allowed the Bruins to hold onto the lead.
Lazar solidified the win and potted an empty-netter at 18:48 of the third period. Final score: 3-0.
Curtis Lazar puts home the empty netter to cap off contributions from all the Bruins trade deadline pickups!#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/dRQP1irAzF
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) April 17, 2021
Swayman definitely earned the shutout so here are some notable saves he made during the game:
- Swayman started the first period tested by a breakaway from Michael Dal Colle. Honestly, didn’t even seemed like it phased him seeing Dal Colle crashing down the slot.
https://t.co/1wRy1HTRbe pic.twitter.com/yi7QhTxmiA
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 17, 2021
- The rookie goaltender made two saves on the Bruins’ power play in the first period. After a turnover by Jake DeBrusk, Swayman came up big on a sequence that saw back-to-back shots from Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson.
- Swayman’s made an impressive save on an Isles’ power play, denying another attempt by Beauvillier in the first frame. He jumped on a wrist shot by him from the low left-wing circle.
- Beauvillier seemed to have some of the best chances for the Islanders in the second period. Swayman was aggressive, coming out of his crease on a breakaway from Beauvillier.
- In the third period, Swayman made a glove save on Brock Nelson as the bruins were returning to even strength. Swayman looked solid on the penalty kill during the five he faced.
The Bruins return on Sunday to close out their five-game homestand with a match-up against the Washington Capitals at 12 pm.