Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists
to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist while Carl Soderberg and Seth Griffith
also scored for the Bruins, who have won five straight. Tuukka Rask stopped 26
shots in the win.
Travis Zajac had a goal and an assist while Jaromir Jagr also scored for the
Devils, who have lost their last four games. Cory Schneider allowed all four
goals on 23 shots in defeat.
The Devils drew first blood when Mike Cammalleri sent a pass from the left
boards to the slot, where Zajac shot it home just 1:26 in.
Boston, though, tied the game on the power play later in the first period.
Bergeron skated the puck behind the net to the left side, where he sent the
disc back to the left circle. Smith then snapped a shot on net that was
deflected, but Soderberg was there to shoot it home for his fifth of the
season at 10:21.
It was a 2-1 lead for the Bruins after Bergeron stole the puck from Eric
Gelinas and quickly shot it in from the right circle with 2:44 left in the
opening stanza.
New Jersey tied the game with seven minutes to play in the second, as Jagr
skated to the right circle and beat Rask with a heavy wrister.
The goal was the 708th of Jagr’s career, tying him with Mike Gartner for sixth
place in NHL history.
Boston grabbed the lead back five minutes later, as Griffith skated up the
middle with the puck and lost control of it, but was still able to backhand it
in between his legs with his back to the net for a 3-2 lead.
Just over a minute later, the Bruins padded their lead when Bergeron sent a
short pass from the right circle to the slot, where Smith snapped it in for a
4-2 advantage.
Rask was on his game in the third, stopping 14 shots to hold on for the win.
Game Notes
Boston plays in Toronto on Wednesday … New Jersey hosts Minnesota on Tuesday
… New Jersey took two of three games from Boston last season … The Bruins
scored on their only power play of the game, while the Devils didn’t have a
man-advantage situation.
