Bruins defeat Mammoth, 4-1
Published in Hockey
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins were slow to boil Tuesday but, as often happens at TD Garden these days, they found a way to get the job done.
After a shaky first period, the B’s shook off a one-goal deficit to get back on the winning track with a 4-1 win over the Utah Mammoth to improve their home record to 12-5.
Morgan Geekie led the way with a pair of goals and Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the victory to kick off their five-game homestand.
The Bruins looked like they were suffering from first-game-home syndrome after a reasonably successful road trip in the first period. They had a brutal time breaking the puck out of their zone and wound up icing it a handful of times.
They also took another offensive zone penalty when Pavel Zacha tripped JJ Peterka and, for the third time in four periods, the B’s coughed up a power-play goal late in the penalty kill. This one came with 12 seconds left on the kill, but unlike the PP goals allowed in Minnesota on Sunday, the B’s were chasing the puck for the entire kill.
As the kill was winding down, Sean Durzi hit Barret Hayton cutting toward the net. Jeremy Swayman stopped Hayton’s redirect but then Hayton stuffed the rebound home at 6:48.
But the B’s, outshot 13-7 in the period, managed to get out of the opening period with a 1-1 tie.
On a rare Bruins’ scoring chance, Perterka slashed Hampus Lindholm on a rush and the B’s were in business.
Unlike their chances in St. Paul, the B’s cashed in on their man advantage opportunity with some good puck movement. Zacha dished to Elias Lindholm at the side of the net and the center came out front like he was going to try the stuff attempt but he dished to David Pastrnak on the right wing. Goalie Vitek Vanecek committed to the shot and Pastrnak slid the puck over to Geekie, who deposited his 23rd goal of the season from the let circle at 16:01.
Then it took the B’s just 23 seconds into the second period to take the lead. After an offensive zone faceoff win, Nikita Zadorov banked the puck off the left boards for Pastrnak, who was skating away from the net. He wheeled around and fired a puck on net that Vanecek stopped but could not control. Geekie was right there at the top of the crease to knock home No. 24 on the rebound.
After the teams traded unsuccessful power play chances, the B’s had several excellent chances to extend the lead but could not.
Most of the chances came on the third power-play chance, and one of their best one may have come on the delayed call. From the side of the net, Lindholm sifted a pass between Vanecek’s pads and Zacha had an open net but he just could not get his blade on the puck on the delayed call. On the PP, Zacha was also robbed Vanecek, who was able to get his glove on Zacha’s slot shot when the netminder was on the seat of his pants.
The B’s held an 8-3 shot advantage in the second but still had just a slim one-goal lead going into the third.
They had to kill off a Mason Lohrei slash early in the third, which they were able to do thanks to a good Swayman save on Clayton Keller from the inside of the right circle.
At 10:16, the B’s finally got their insurance goal. Off the rush that was sprung by Marat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt from his off wing found the trailer Zacha on the left wing. Zacha’s shot was wide but it bounced right to back to Mittelstadt, who was able to score into the empty net from his forehand, his eighth of the season.
Mikey Eyssimont then sealed the deal with a pretty breakaway goal, using his speed to beat Olli Maata to get in the clear and then tucked a backhander inside the post for his sixth of the year.
The only thing left to do for the teams was to throw a few shots at each other with 25 seconds left but anything meaningful had already happened.
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