Boston Bruins
Behind the play of Swayman and Steeves, Boston closed out a four-game trek that stretched from coast-to-coast with a 2-2-0 record.
ELMONT, N.Y. — Handed the net for the third consecutive game, Jeremy Swayman showed no early effects of tryptophan on the eve of Thanksgiving.
The Bruins’ netminder was sharp once again on Wednesday night at UBS Arena, stopping 44 of 45 shots en route to a 3-1 win over the Islanders.
Behind the play of Swayman and a two-goal night from Alex Steeves, Boston (14-11-0) closed out a four-game trek that stretched from coast-to-coast with a 2-2-0 record.
The Islanders (13-9-2) peppered Swayman throughout, leaving the frozen sheet with a 45-14 advantage in shots on goal.
But Boston’s bottom-six grouping generated enough offense to keep Marco Sturm’s club afloat.
Steeves and Tanner Jeannot both found the back of the net in the opening two periods, while Steeves went for seconds in the third period to give Boston some breathing room.
Boston once again ran into some penalty woes with four separate minor infractions. But the Bruins’ PK unit shifted momentum back on Boston’s side — negating all four Islanders power plays and adding a shorthanded strike from Steeves in the third.
A costly neutral-zone turnover by Bruins winger Matej Blumel allowed New York to land the first punch.
Shortly after Blumel’s miscue, Islanders center Mathew Barzal put his slick mitts to good use — dangling past Pavel Zacha near the crease before tucking the puck past an outstretched Swayman to make it 1-0 just 4:41 into the contest.
Blumel — slotted back into the lineup on Wednesday in hopes of adding some scoring punch — logged just 2:02 of ice time against New York. Boston ruled him out with a lower-body injury midway through the opening period.
New York’s early lead didn’t last long. Just 1:42 after Barzal lit the lamp, Steeves countered — pouncing on a puck near the blue paint and knocking it past Ilya Sorokin to knot the game up at one goal apiece.
Steeves’ Grade-A attempt — the byproduct of a hard-working shift from Boston’s fourth line — was one of just three shots on goal the Bruins registered against Sorokin in the initial 20 minutes.
Down the other end of the ice, Swayman turned aside 10 of 11 New York shots in the first — aided by a timely assist from Hampus Lindholm.
With 2:10 to go in the first, Swayman wasn’t able to properly corral a sharp wrister from Simon Holmstrom, with the skittering puck leaking through and gliding toward the goal line. The go-ahead goal was negated by Lindholm, who swept it back toward Swayman and out of danger.
A Bruins’ offense reliant on Morgan Geekie for five of their last six goals entering Wednesday night received more secondary scoring in the second.
After Mark Kastelic forced a turnover in the neutral zone, Boston’s third line went to work with Fraser Minten fishing the puck out of a mass of skaters in the slot. It landed right on Jeannot’s tape, who promptly snapped the offering past Sorokin’s glove to put Boston ahead, 2-1.
It was one of the few chances Boston managed to generate in the second, with the Bruins going nearly 11 minutes between shots on goal in the period.
After 40 minutes, New York held a 22-11 edge in shots — with Swayman stopping all 11 in the second.
The Bruins picked a good time to secure their first shorthanded tally of the season.
With the Islanders pushing in search of the equalizer in the third, Steeves took advantage of an ill-advised feed from Islanders rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer.
On the subsequent two-on-one rush, Minten managed to get Schaefer to bite on a toe drag — opening a passing lane for Minten to feed Steeves for his second goal of the evening.
New York pulled Sorokin with over three minutes left in regulation, but Swayman did not budge to close out the victory.
After a brief respite for Thanksgiving, Boston will host the Rangers in a Black Friday matinee game at TD Garden. Puck drop is 1 p.m.
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