In their second game back from the Christmas break, the Boston Bruins (20-14-4) avenged their disappointing 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-16-6) from the night before with a controlling 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday (Dec. 28). Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped all 18 shots against him to pick up his second shutout of the season.
A few hours prior to game time, the Bruins announced that one of the team’s top prospects, Fabian Lysell, was recalled from Providence (American Hockey League) and would make his NHL debut in this game. He made an impact instantly, as on the first shift of his NHL career, he drove hard behind the net against two defenders to get the puck in deep, cycling it back to Justin Brazeau. After Brandon Carlo shot the puck from the point, Brazeau eventually buried a loose puck in tight on Blue Jackets goalie Danill Tarasov to put Boston up 1-0. Lysell didn’t record a point on the play, even though he was initially awarded an assist, but the effort was impressive enough.
THE BRUINS STRIKE FIRST 🚨
— NESN (@NESN) December 29, 2024
Brazeau gives the @NHLBruins the early lead! pic.twitter.com/IhztGS0jsA
Columbus struggled a lot more throughout this game at getting pucks into Boston’s zone as the Bruins were far better in the neutral zone and swarmed the Blue Jackets players all game long, preventing a lot of high-quality chances from Columbus. Near the end of the period, Brad Marchand took a hit up high from Kirill Marchenko, something Marchand did not like, leading to both teams engaging in some pushing and shoving. The first period ended with Boston ahead by one, while also outshooting Columbus 10-to-2.
The Blue Jackets had some moments of offensive chances in the second period, including a good three-minute stretch where they dominated in Boston’s defensive zone, getting chances off the cycle on Swayman. Just when it felt like a goal was coming soon, the Bruins struck. As Columbus tried breaking the puck out, David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha forced a turnover to Morgan Geekie who sniped his eighth goal of the season unassisted to put Boston up by two.
Two minutes later, the relentless puck pursuit of Pastrnak, Zacha and Geekie led to another golden opportunity; this time a breakaway for Pastrnak, and after a couple nice dekes to shift Tarasov, he buried the chance for his 13th goal of the season, giving Boston a three-goal advantage heading into the second intermission.
It was much of the same in the final regulation period as Boston controlled play and didn’t allow much to get to Swayman. Anything that did make its way was stopped as Swayman looked solid all game long. Bruins forward Cole Koepke added to Boston’s goal total with a snipe off the rush for his sixth of the season. A few minutes later, Charlie McAvoy took a hard hit against the glass that appeared to shake him up a bit. Nikita Zadorov answered the bell, dropping the gloves with Mathieu Olivier in the aid of his teammate. McAvoy would later return.
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Boston held on to take this game, 4-0, as Geekie led the way with two points (1 goal, 1 assist) along with Swayman’s 18 saves. Tarasov finished with an .857 save percentage for the Blue Jackets, saving, 24 of the 28 shots he faced in this game. In the win, Marchand’s 11-game point streak ended.
Looking ahead on the schedule, the Bruins will finish their 2024 calendar year with a matinee game on New Year’s Eve against the Washington Capitals, while the Blue Jackets will have a home matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on the same day.
