What we learned: Bruins still winning despite subpar play

The Boston Bruins didn’t make it easy on themselves – or Jeremy Swayman – in the first two periods of a Saturday matinee against the bottom-feeding Columbus Blue Jackets. They hardly displayed their sharpest brand of hockey, but Jim Montgomery’s squad managed to pull away in the third and improve to 24-4-2.

Swayman returned to the crease in search of a bounce-back performance after last Friday’s loss in Arizona. The second-year netminder had a perfect outing save for a pair of power-play tallies, stopping 31 of 33 shots en route to his sixth win in 2022-23. 

David Pastrnak and David Krejci collected power-play goals in the first and second periods, respectively. Boston’s man-advantage unit, which failed to convert at critical moments in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, provided the necessary production to secure their 50th point of the season. 

Taylor Hall and Tomas Nosek added insurance markers just 19 seconds apart. Skating alongside Krejci and Pastrnak on the second line, Hall — now with 16 points in his last 15 games — recorded a goal and an assist in yet another strong outing.

Here’s what we learned from the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets.

Swayman has a needed bounce-back outing 

Swayman’s 31-save afternoon marked a resounding bounce-back performance for Swayman after allowing four goals on 16 shots last Friday. He nearly topped off his strongest outing of the season toward the end of the third after coming within inches of notching an empty-net tally.

Linus Ullmark, who has lately solidified the top netminder spot, started each of Boston’s previous three outings. While searching for more consistency, Swayman found his groove against the Blue Jackets following an eight-day layover between starts.

“I’m grateful for the adversity coming my way early on,” Swayman said. “Knowing how to battle through games, battle through tough times, and not getting a start for a couple days.”

Swayman’s season has seen more bumps in the road than his prior two professional seasons. The Bruins had to stray away from their tandem a year ago, giving Ullmark the bulk of the workload.

In a season where Swayman has encountered injuries and fewer minutes between the pipes, Saturday afternoon could provide a needed jolt.

“Everybody has those moments in their career where things aren’t going well, and that’s what makes you better,” Montgomery said. “[Swayman]’s going to come out of that little small hiccup he had there, and he’s going to be better for it because everyone needs adversity…it makes you better.”

The Bruins are still winning despite subpar play.

The wins continue to pile up for the Bruins in December, but the third month of the season hasn’t lived up to its predecessors of October and November. 

The Bruins have continued their winning ways despite the slip-ups from recent performances. Their struggles popped up again in the first two periods, but the Bruins managed to find their skating legs in the third to secure another bounce-back win.

“I don’t think we’re playing very good hockey,” Montgomery said. “We’re not checking well enough, I don’t think we’re playing fast enough with the puck, and it’s leading to us spending more time in our own end…that’s leading to us leaking oil a little bit.”

The Bruins took four stick infractions across the first 40 minutes, allowing the Blue Jackets to generate quality looks against Swayman. Boston’s top-tier penalty kill survived a five-on-three situation but struggled to keep an offensive-challenged Columbus bunch, allowing two goals in five shorthanded situations.

Unlike their outing against opportunistic Kings on Thursday, the Bruins held on to secure two points against the lottery-bound Blue Jackets.

“When things are going really well, I think the obvious thing that you need to avoid is complacency,” McAvoy said. “ For us, it’s about continuing to get better to build on that. Not being satisfied with where we are. It’s human nature sometimes where that complacency can slip in.”

The Bruins highlighted Bergeron’s leadership during pregame ceremony.

Before puck drop, the Bruins honored Patrice Bergeron in a ceremony fitting for someone notching 1,000 career NHL points.

Tribute videos and speeches from members of the Bruins organization memorialized the captain’s offensive production and his impressive leadership traits.

Bergeron once again led by example on Saturday with his second intermission speech inside the dressing room. His motivated teammates finally found their rhythm allowing the Bruins to fully take control in the third.

“I said to [Bergeron], even with 40 seconds left in the second, it’s your dressing room,” Montgomery said. “I just hope he doesn’t want to be a head coach because we came out and played our best period of the game. That just speaks volumes. One, it’s how much I trust him, and it’s how much the players listen to him.”

As it is for Bergeron, his point production is just one of several traits that makes him one of the game’s best two-way forwards of all time. His 200-foot game, and the leadership he instilled in a tight-knit culture, allow the Bruins to persevere through any subpar stretches.

“It was just a reminder that we still have [20] minutes to play the right way. “Take it upon ourselves to be accountable for one another,” Bergeron said. “I think it’s the biggest thing, accountability, for yourself to bring it and to know you’re gonna do the right things.”