BOSTON — Jeremy Swayman stopped the last seven penalty shots taken by the Dallas Stars, and in turn propelled the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 shootout victory at TD Garden on Monday afternoon.
With Boston concluding its seven-game homestand 2-3-2, the Bruins improved to 33-12-11. The Central Division-leading Stars, who held a one-goal lead with under two minutes in regulation, dropped to 34-14-8.
Check out the box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Swayman came up clutch both during regulation and in the extra sessions, helping Boston to the victory despite Dallas hold a 46-28 advantage in shots. Swayman saved seven penalty shots and forced Tyler Seguin to miss the frame on Dallas’ second attempt.
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His heroics helped Boston stay alive despite the fact the Black and Gold missed seven of their first eight penalty shots. Charlie McAvoy delivered what proved to be the winner on a slick forehand-backhand combination in the ninth round of the shootout.
Brad Marchand scored Boston’s first shootout goal with misses coming from Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Trent Frederic and Jesper Boqvist.
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STARS OF THE GAME
— Swayman finished the game with career-high 43 saves on 46 shots. In addition to his heroics in the shootout, Swayman added a clutch overtime stop against Stars forward Tyler Seguin, who had a 1-on-1 with Swayman late in the extra session.
— Justin Brazeau started his first career game, and scored the first goal of his NHL career. But Brazeau also led the Bruins with a team-high four shots, including a Grade-A scoring chance eight minutes into the third period after an initial shot from Trent Frederic.
— Boqvist scored Boston’s first goal of the game, and helped the fourth line account for each of the Bruins’ first two goals.
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WAGER WATCH
The last time the Stars and Bruins met in mid-February they combined for 68 shots on goal. If you felt like Monday’s game might feature a similar pace of play, you might have been able to cash in. Jeremy Swayman’s alternate save number of 35+ was +560 at FanDuel Sportsbook. Swayman had 33 saves after two periods and eclipsed 35 midway through the third.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins wrapped up their seven-game homestand Monday and now head on the road for four games, three of which are in Canada. Boston will face the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday and return to NESN on Thursday night as the Black and Gold take on the Calgary Flames.
Featured image via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
