BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With injuries leading to often-changing lineups for Boston, one thing has stayed the same: The Bruins have earned to very few easy wins this season. In fact, a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday was just their second by more than two goals.
Now, the Bruins turn the page to a matchup with the visiting New Jersey Devils, with Boston looking to post its first back-to-back triumphs since completing a seven-game winning streak nearly a month ago.
“Maybe we slip a little bit sometimes after one win or a few wins, so we’ve got to keep that consistency better and have a higher low point than we have right now,” said Boston forward Viktor Arvidsson, who recorded his 400th career point on Thursday.
Boston score twice in the first period against St. Louis before breaking open a 2-1 game with a three-goal middle frame in which Pavel Zacha netted the final two tallies. Joonas Korpisalo made a season-high 37 saves.
Boston forward Alex Steeves has stepped up in the absence of star David Pastrnak, who has missed four consecutive games due to an undisclosed injury and remains day-to-day.
Steeves tallied the game-opening goal against the Blues, his fifth goal in five games as he temporarily plays alongside Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie on the top line. The New Hampshire native did not play in his first NHL game until Nov. 8 this season, working on his game with AHL Providence to earn a recall.
“A lot of guys say it. But to Steeves’ credit, a lot of guys don’t do it,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “He didn’t like to go down (after training camp), but I also remember he said, ‘I will be back.’ … The way he said it, I believed him. I knew his time would come.”
Friday also marked Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s second day skating in a non-contact jersey after taking a shot to the face on Nov. 15.
New Jersey hits the road to complete a back-to-back set and looks to change its luck after being swept in a four-game homestand. The Devils took their second straight shutout loss and third this season in a 3-0 setback against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
Prior to the recent skid that dropped them out of a playoff position in the ultra-tight Eastern Conference, the Devils were 9-0-1 on home ice this season. They are 7-7-0 on the road.
“We need everybody on board,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “We have our foundation, and it starts with just competing. We’ve also got to find a way to score goals. Without scoring goals, you aren’t winning. … We have to simplify our game and get a dirty win.”
New Jersey was right in it on Friday, trailing just 1-0 after two periods before Vegas padded its lead with a pair of power-play tallies late in the third.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe searched for answers in another late-game situation, moving his top line to feature Hischier centering Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt.
Another change to the forward lineup came in the form of Angus Crookshank, who was recalled from AHL Utica and made his Devils debut on Friday. He had an even rating in 10:36 of ice time.
“He skates hard and shoots the puck extremely well,” Keefe said. “We think if he can get a scoring chance, he can shoot it in the net. We’re just trying to give him a chance.”
Crookshank had five goals in 17 AHL games at the time of his call-up. The first 21 games of his NHL career were with the Ottawa Senators over the past two seasons.
–Field Level Media