Mackenzie Blackwood delivered an outstanding performance with 40 saves, earning his first shutout of the season as the New Jersey Devils narrowly defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Sunday night. Kyle Palmieri scored the lone goal of the game, helping the Devils extend their strong record against the Bruins to 4-0-1 this season, with each contest being decided by a single goal.
Jaroslav Halak was solid in net for Boston, stopping 28 shots, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bruins from snapping their four-game point streak (3-0-1).
Despite the victory, the Devils have been struggling, losing four of their last five games before this win. The team had to rely on two crucial replay reviews in the final 70 seconds to secure the victory.
The two teams are set to face each other again in Boston on Tuesday.
With Halak pulled for an extra skater in the final moments, Patrice Bergeron appeared to score out of a scramble with 1:10 remaining as Blackwood struggled to cover a loose puck in the crease. However, the Devils successfully challenged the play for goaltender interference, and the goal was overturned because Boston’s David Krejci had knocked the puck out of Blackwood’s glove.
“Immediately when I saw it, it looked like he pitchforked Blackie when he had the puck covered,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff commented. “I said to the other coaches: ‘I’m challenging it for sure.'”
Blackwood was confident the call would go in his favor. “I knew I had it covered before they replayed that one,” he said.
In the closing seconds, Blackwood made a crucial save on a rolling puck just before it crossed the goal line, leading to another lengthy review that upheld the on-ice decision.
“I saw the one angle and I saw the other angle, to me it looked like it didn’t cross the line,” Blackwood explained. “They have to look at every angle.”
Boston’s coach, Bruce Cassidy, was somewhat surprised by the disallowed goal. “Typically, it’s supposed to be egregious,” he remarked. “I think they deemed it egregious. I don’t know. What am I supposed to say about that? They made the call, but it didn’t go our way.”
Halak had previously denied Miles Wood’s breakaway attempt with 3½ minutes left in the third period.
The Devils killed off most of a double minor penalty early in the third when Janne Kuokkanen was penalized for high-sticking Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy was subsequently called for tripping late in the Bruins’ power play. Despite several good chances, Blackwood kept the Bruins off the scoreboard.
“Not a lot of puck luck for us,” Cassidy said. “When we score some goals, they come back on us.”
Palmieri’s decisive goal came at 16:37 into the first period, redirecting Ty Smith’s shot from the top of the right circle past Halak’s glove and into the net.
The Bruins suffered another setback when Bergeron left the game after a collision with teammate Trent Frederic, resulting in a head injury with 5 ½ minutes left in the second period. Bergeron returned to the ice in the third period.
Both teams came out strong, playing a tight-checking game that offered few high-quality scoring opportunities in the opening period. Halak’s standout save was a left pad stop on Yegor Sharangovich’s wrist shot from the left circle.
The Devils were unlucky in the second period when Nicholas Merkley’s backhander from near the right circle hit the post, with Halak scrambling across the crease.
Boston forward Anders Bjork had a short-handed breakaway late in the second, but Blackwood made a critical pad save to preserve the Devils’ lead.
Missing Players
The Bruins were without their leading scorer, Brad Marchand (12 goals, 22 assists), for the second straight game due to COVID protocol. Forward Jake DeBrusk and center Sean Kuraly were also still in protocol.
Resting Up
Devils coach Lindy Ruff gave his players a day off on Saturday after they played three games in four days. “It was really important,” Ruff said during a morning video conference. “When you look at playing the number of games we did in the number of days, just rest, get your mind away from the game, and reenergize to play the game we need to play.”
Extra Notes
Boston center Charlie Coyle played his 600th career game. It was the Bruins’ third game of a seven-game homestand. In their last meeting in Boston, Devils’ goalie Scott Wedgewood also made 40 saves in a 1-0 win on March 7, with Palmieri scoring the game-winning goal in both encounters.
“In both games, our goalies stepped up and made some big saves down the stretch,” Palmieri said.
