Much like the now-completed four-game road trip, the Boston Bruins’ game against the New York Islanders wasn’t perfect. But they got what they needed to enjoy their Thanksgiving – a victory.

Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves – 18 in the third period – and the B’s got a pair of goals from Alex Steeves to sweep the season series with the Islanders with a 3-1 victory. The B’s managed just 14 shots, but three of them found the back of the net. And with Swayman doing his thing, that was more than enough. They didn’t even need a goal from Morgan Geekie.

The B’s finished the trip at .500 with two wins and two losses.

The night did not start off well for them.

In a bid to goose more scoring out of his lineup, coach Marco Sturm made some tweaks. He inserted Matej Blumel to recreate the Czech line with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha and made a second line of Geekie, Elias Lindholm and Marat Khusnutdinov.

It didn’t last long.

The Islanders took the first lead of the game at 4:41. Skating through the neutral zone, Blumel’s soft dump-in was gloved down by Matthew Schaefer and the Islanders went back on the attack. Eventually, Mathew Barzal bore down on Swayman from the left side, bringing the netminder out and down and smartly tucked it behind Swayman for the 1-0 lead.

To add injury to insult, Blumel got tangled up with Anders Lee at the side of the net and suffered a lower body injury that ended his night.

But one of Sturm’s lineup machinations did work out in the first.

Steeves was dropped to the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont and that trio had a terrific shift. Jonathan Aspirot kept the puck in at the blue line and got it down low to Eyssimont. He made a tight pass to Kuraly in the right circle the centerman threw the puck toward the net. Steeves corralled the bouncing puck and buried his second goal of the season at 6:23.

Both teams had one ineffective power play apiece in the first while the Islanders held an 11-4 shot advantage. One of those other Islander shots almost turned into their second lead when Simon Holmstrom’s shot broke through Swayman but Hampus Lindholm kept it from going over the goal line, tucking it back under Swayman.

As has been the case in recent games, the B’s big, energetic third line got the first shift in the second period. Not only did the trio create some momentum, it gave the B’s their first lead just 43 seconds into the period. After some good pressure created by a Nikita Zadorov rush, the puck was rattling around the slot and Fraser Minten was able to direct it to Tanner Jeannot in the right circle. Jeannot snapped a wrist shot that beat Ilya Sorokin to the short side.

The B’s managed to preserve that slim lead into the second intermission, but they spent a lot of time in their own zone for the rest of the second period. They played sound defensively, though, keeping the Islanders on the perimeter for the most part, even on the two power plays they gave the hosts in the period. The Islanders held an 11-7 shot advantage in the second.

The B’s continued to tempt fate in the third period, playing most of the first half of the period in their own zone and, when Geekie took a tripping penalty at 9:18, they appeared to be in a really bad spot.

But the B’s picked a great time to score their first shorthanded goal of the season. Steeves picked off a pass in the defensive zone and took off with Minten for a 2-on-1. He dished it to Minten at the Islander blue line, then the young centerman made a terrific toe drag before dishing it to Steeves for his second of the night at 10:21.

Islander coach Patrick Roy pulled Sorokin for the extra skater with 4:34 left, but Swayman nailed down the win.

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