Pastrnak tallies points for Boston in 3-1 victory over Avalanche
Avalanche at Bruins | Recap
By Joe McDonald
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BOSTON –Morgan Geekie scored twice and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists to lead Boston to a 3-1 win over the Avalanche on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
The Bruins (25-20-6), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves in his return to the lineup after missing one game with a minor upper-body injury suffered in a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
“It’s something we wanted to monitor and get solved pretty quickly,” Swayman said of the injury. “The trainers worked their magic, and I was able to get back out there today and feel really good … (Friday) was a good practice to get back into a rhythm, feel the puck, see plays develop, and I was able to watch our game against Ottawa as well, so visually learning allows me to get back on the ice and hopefully to have a seamless transition.”
COL@BOS: Geekie goes backdoor and whips it in to put the Bruins up 2-1 in the 3rd
Artturi Lehkonen scored, and Scott Wedgewood made 12 saves for the Avalanche (28-20-2), who have lost three straight.
“I thought our guys did a nice job,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of playing less than 24 hours after Mikko Rantanen was traded following 10 years with the team. “They came ready to play and play hard and play well. They’re all pros. I’m sure their minds thinking of that kind of stuff last night and their teammate prior to the game at points. But I thought they did a great job with their focus. I thought we played hard, played to the game plan, didn’t capitalize on some of our chances and we kind of fell asleep for a couple minutes and it cost us the game, but I thought they did a nice job with their focus.”
Lehkonen gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 1:30 of the second period. Juuso Parssinen controlled the puck, gained the offensive line, and fed a backhand pass to Lehkonen. He received it in the right face-off circle and his shot from the dot beat Swayman to the stick side.
The Bruins, who had eight shots on goal through two periods, tied the game 1-1 when Geekie scored 25 seconds into the third period.
Geekie then gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 5:44. Pastrnak controlled the puck behind the Colorado net, skated around Wedgewood’s right side, and found Geekie on the far post for the backdoor tap-in goal.
Geekie has six goals in his past seven games.
“It’s growing,” he said of his chemistry with Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. “We’ve played together for a while now and it’s always easier when you learn the habits of the guys you’re playing with and it’s always fun to play with guys with lots of skill. For me, you’re in awe with the things [Pastrnak] does with the puck and I just try to get open. It’s lots of fun right now, so let’s keep having fun.”
COL@BOS: Geekie drills it past Wedgewood to tie the game 1-1 in the 3rd period
Pastrnak scored an empty-net goal with three seconds remaining for the 3-1 final. He increased his point streak to seven games (seven goals, 10 assists, and has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in his past 12 games.
“He’s finding his game,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco said. “He’s getting that confidence level up to where it usually is. We’ve said it before, he was going to find his offense sooner or later. He’s too talented of a player and he’s competitive. He wants to help the team win offensively, and that’s how he feels he helps the team in most cases. He takes it upon himself to make sure he’s producing at a high level and that’s what he’s doing now. He’s seeing the game very well and he’s feeling good about himself again.”
NOTES: Pastrnak has assisted on 10 of Geekie’s 15 goals this season. … Boston has won its past four games at home, and is 10-1-1 in its past 12 on home ice.