By: Julia Simone | Follow me on Twitter / X @j_simone40
The Boston Bruins faced the Colorado Avalanche on Causeway yesterday afternoon for their third game in four days. This was the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Bruins posted a record of 24-20-6 heading into this game, which puts them in the middle of the standings fighting for a playoff spot. The team needs to start winning games consistently if they want to make the playoffs this season.
Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman returned to the lineup yesterday afternoon after missing Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators with a minor upper-body injury. Swayman had a .896 save percentage going into this game against the Avs. Colorado scored first early in the second period after Artturi Lehkonen beat Swayman on his blocker side.
David Pastrnak was penalized late in the second period for tripping and sent the Avs to the man advantage. The B’s were able to kill off the penalty and head into the third only down by one. After two periods, Colorado had twice the amount of shots on goal than the Bruins. The visitors registered 19 shots on goal while the Bruins only registered eight.
Morgan Geekie scored less than 30 seconds into the third period to tie the game. The momentum started to shift in the Bruins favor as the period went on. Geekie netted another goal about six minutes later after a great pass from Pastrnak to give the Bruins a 2-1 the lead. This was the forward’s second goal of the game and his 15th goal of the season. The 6’3″ center has scored goals in three straight games.
The Bruins completed a third period comeback after David Pastrnak scored an empty net goal with three seconds left on the clock. This was Pastrnak’s 25th goal of the season and 11th goal of the month. The Bruins top line with David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, and Pavel Zacha has produced the most offense as of late. The win against the Avalanche improved the Bruins record to 25-20-6. The black and gold currently occupy the 13th spot in the league. After the game, head coach Joe Sacco weighed in on the chemistry between the top line. He said, “that line has developed some chemistry the last little while. They’re finding their spots…reading off each other well. Geeks is doing a good job, finishing his chances. And 88’s playing pretty good hockey right now.”
The standard here in Boston is to make the playoffs. After the game defenseman Nikita Zadorov emphasized that expectation and added, “I want to see the Boston Garden buzzing in the playoffs…that’s definitely extra motivation for us.” The club will look to carry this momentum into the coming weeks before the Four Nations break in the middle of February.
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