Jeremy Swayman pitched a 35-save shutout and Charlie McAvoy scored the eventual game-winning goal as the Boston Bruins beat the visiting Minnesota Wild 3-0 on Tuesday night.
The Bruins won their second straight game and fourth in the last six.
Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie joined McAvoy in the goal department.
Matt Poitras assisted on Boston’s first two goals, and David Pastrnak had one helper to extend his point streak to 11 games.
Swayman made 14 saves in the second period.
The Wild was scoreless on the power play, with three of their four opportunities coming in the third period.
The loss was Minnesota’s second straight since a three-game win streak.
Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots. It was his 1,044th career game, tied with Roberto Luongo for the second-most by a goaltender in NHL history.
Minnesota recorded the first five shots on goal before Boston surged for the rest of a scoreless first. Fleury made 14 saves, including a flashing glove save on Pavel Zacha’s open chance coming down the slot at 10:25.
Swayman maintained the early deadlock when he turned aside a Marco Rossi rebound bid after Marcus Foligno’s initial shot 2:04 into the second.
The home team’s play was rewarded on the scoreboard later in the middle period, though, as McAvoy tipped home Pastrnak’s shot that sailed through traffic from the high slot at 5:46.
After Marco Rossi drove down the wing and missed connecting on a backhand pass to Swayman’s right, Frederic scored at the end of a 3-on-2 rush at 14:14. His first goal since Jan. 14 was a top-shelf snipe from the left circle that was set up by a cross-ice pass from Poitras.
Swayman kept the score steady at 2-0 with 4:34 left in the second and into that intermission, sliding across his crease to snatch a Matt Boldy one-timer.
After Minnesota’s third unsuccessful power play of the last frame, Oliver Wahlstrom nearly made it a 3-0 Boston lead as he clanked the crossbar coming out of the penalty box with 6:42 remaining.
Geekie added an empty-net tally with 45.9 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
