BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 is retired to the TD Garden rafters on Thursday night, the Boston Bruins will look to complete a five-game sweep of their homestand when they host the Seattle Kraken. Bruins’ goalkeepers have pitched back-to-back shutouts — one behind both Joonas Korpisalo and Jeremy Swayman — and allowed just three total goals in the four games since losing 7-4 in Seattle on Jan. 6.
“Best stat ever,” Swayman said of the defensive performance that has highlighted the recent unbeaten leg of the team’s 6-1-0 run.
Boston’s latest win on Tuesday was a big one. Pavel Zacha scored the deciding goal and Swayman made 24 saves in a 3-0 shutout of the Detroit Red Wings, who entered the week leading the Atlantic Division.
“I think it was one of the most complete games we’ve played all year long, 5-on-5,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “Those are the games we have to take advantage of a little bit (against a team on a back-to-back). We’ve had a couple recently. I think (Thursday) will be another one.”
While Zacha’s second-period goal stood tall, the Bruins dominated in the third, outshooting Detroit 16-2 and getting scoring from Fraser Minten and Mark Kastelic.
Zacha has points in four of his last five games, including a hat trick with the game-winner in Boston’s 10-2 Saturday win over the New York Rangers. Viktor Arvidsson, who has played on Zacha’s wing of late, is on a five-game point streak.
But focusing on the back end has been key to the stretch.
“I think that’s one of the things from the start of the season we really pride ourselves on — being good defensively, playing these close games and being able to win them,” Zacha said.
Tuesday also marked Boston’s fourth straight game committing just two penalties after a whopping 30 calls in the prior six.
Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm inched closer to returning from injured reserve as he skated in a non-contact jersey on Wednesday.
Seattle visits Boston for the fourth contest of a five-game road trip (1-1-1), heading north following its 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
The Kraken’s win over Boston last week also came in the second game of a back-to-back and was part of a 10-game point streak (8-0-2). They are just 1-1-2 since that game.
Jordan McCann had a goal and an assist, former Devils defenseman Adam Larsson also scored, and Vince Dunn helped on both goals against New Jersey.
“I thought we played slow hockey. Prior to the game, we said we were gonna have to play fast,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “I didn’t think we were sharp, and part of being sharp is you play with some speed.”
The effort improved despite a scoreless third period, but New Jersey dominated possession in the extra session.
“We’ve just got to keep going,” Seattle forward Kaapo Kakko said. “Like the third, that was some good hockey.”
McCann joins Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson as Seattle’s third 10-goal scorer this season. He has goals in back-to-back games and points in eight of nine (five goals, five assists).
After Philipp Grubauer’s consecutive starts, all signs point to Joey Daccord taking the net back in his native Massachusetts. Daccord lost Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes but made 32 stops to beat the Bruins the first time around.
–Field Level Media