Four months ago to the day, many Bruins fans believed this would be a banner raising.
But alas, the Stanley Cup was not in the building Saturday night when Boston began its home schedule of the 2019-20 campaign. The Bruins rolled out the red carpet nonetheless, promptly pulling it from underneath the New Jersey Devils in a 3-0 drubbing at the new-look TD Garden.
Boston did not need long to jump in front, using a pair of first-period goals to put them on the path to victory. Tuukka Rask posted his first shutout of the season, stopping 31 pucks. Cory Schneider made 29 saves.
Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom and Patrice Bergeron notched the goals for the Bruins.
The Bruins moved to 4-1-0 with the win, while the Devils fell to 0-3-2.
Here’s how it all went down:
QUICK START
The B’s got out to good start back in front of the home crowd.
A solid play by David Pastrnak to create a turnover in his defensive zone before hitting Brad Marchand with a breakout pass to lead to Boston’s first tally. Marchand was able to out-muscle P.K. Subban along the wall, making his way back to the slot where he fired a wrister into the twine.
Boston’s fourth line showed some synergy in their second game reunited. And it was Joakim Nordstrom, who rejoined the lineup on Thursday night, potting his first goal of the season.
Boston outshot New Jersey 15-10 in the period. The Bruins killed off their only penalty of the period while also going 0-for-1 on the power play.
TUUKKA TIME
New Jersey answered with a spark in the second period after starting the night on its back foot.
The Devils peppered the Boston net with 15 shots in the middle stanza, with Rask pushing all of them aside to keep the Bruins’ two-goal lead intact.
The B’s rewarded their goaltender with even more insurance in the final minute while on the power play, with Bergeron cleaning up in front of the net to notch his first goal of the season.
The Bruins killed off a pair of penalties in the second, while going 1-for-2 on the man advantage.
BRINGING IT HOME
The Bruins never saw their lead in danger in the closing period.
Rask made seven saves in solidifying his first shutout of the season.
Boston killed off the only penalty it was assessed in the period, a two-minute minor handed to Zdeno Chara for holding.
UP NEXT
The Bruins remain on home turf, welcoming the Anaheim Ducks to TD Garden on Monday for a 1 p.m. ET puck drop.
