Wins aren’t going to come easy for the Boston Bruins right now. Not with David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy both out of the lineup. Saturday night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings certainly wasn’t easy, or pretty. But coming off Friday’s 6-2 beatdown at the hands of the New York Rangers, all that really mattered was that the Bruins bounced back and got two points.
They can thank their two brightest stars at the moment: Morgan Geekie and Jeremy Swayman. Geekie stayed red hot, scoring both Bruins goals in regulation. He is once again tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead in goals with 20, a fact that even he still can’t believe.
Swayman was excellent once again, just as he has been all month. His 24 saves Saturday may not jump off the page the same way his career-high 44 saves did on Wednesday, but he was at his best when it mattered most. Swayman made four saves in overtime, including three during a 4-on-3 Detroit power play, just to get the game to a shootout. In the shootout, he stopped all three shots he faced, allowing Casey Mittelstadt’s lone shootout goal to stand as the winner.
Make no mistake: There were plenty of other contributors in this one. Elias Lindholm had two assists, giving him four in the last two games as he starts to find his game after returning from injury. Alex Steeves forced the turnover that led to Geekie’s first goal, and drew the penalty that led to his second. Mark Kastelic helped swing momentum in Boston’s favor late in the first period when he dropped the gloves, and then dropped Moritz Seider with a hard right to the chin.
Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm and Andrew Peeke all played over 26 minutes as the go-to guys on a blue line that is now down two regulars with McAvoy and Henri Jokiharju out. They were huge parts of both a tightened-up 5-on-5 defense and a penalty kill that went a perfect 5-for-5.
But, the Bruins really needed to lean on their best players. And with Pastrnak and McAvoy out, those best players are Geekie and Swayman. This was Geekie’s third multi-goal game in the last six, with eight goals total during that time. While he continues to give humble answers when asked about his goal-scoring prowess, Bruins coach Marco Sturm said he sees a player who wants to be “the guy.”
Swayman, meanwhile, is now 8-2-0 with a .934 save percentage in November. He has not allowed more than three goals in a game all month. His 19.3 goals saved above expected on the season is now nearly 4.5 goals clear of second-place Spencer Knight (14.9). Sturm says the confidence Swayman is playing with is rubbing off on the rest of the team every time he’s in net.
The Bruins just need to keep their head above water until Pastrnak and McAvoy are back. Alternating wins and losses, as they have for their last six games, isn’t ideal, but it might be just good enough for the time being. Their 30 points are second in the Atlantic Division, while their .556 points percentage is fourth.
Pastrnak, who tweaked something in Wednesday’s win over the New York Islanders, is considered day-to-day, with Sturm saying he doesn’t expect it to be anything long-term. McAvoy skated at TD Garden before the team’s morning skate Saturday, the first step as he begins to ramp up after the ugly facial injury he suffered in Montreal two weeks ago. Sturm said there is still no timetable for his return.
After a West Coast trip followed by three games in four days, the Bruins’ schedule finally lets up at least a little bit. They have two days off before a rematch against the Red Wings in Detroit on Tuesday, and they actually have just five games over the next 14 days. The Bruins have survived a brutal stretch, thanks in large part to Geekie and Swayman. Now it’s time to get healthier and build their game.