BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Predators 0 - Swayman posts 42-save shutout as B’s bounce back

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 2-0 win over the Predators with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

SHORT SHIFT

Jeremy Swayman sure picked a perfect time to post his first shutout of the season — as the rookie netminder turned aside all 42 shots that came his way to help a shorthanded B’s roster outlast the Predators, 2-0, on Thursday night. 

Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo scored for the Bruins, who improve to 12-8-0 on the season.

Boston routinely planted itself in Grade-A ice during the opening period, peppering Juuse Saros with 15 shots and ringing two pucks off the post via snipes from David Pastrnak and Erik Haula.

But a power-play bid is what allowed Boston to finally break through — with DeBrusk opening the scoring with a short-side snipe that beat Saros with just one second to go on the man advantage.

Boston added to its lead just 30 seconds into the second period, with Carlo uncorking a blast that sailed past Saros for his second goal of the season. 

The Bruins were unable to give themselves some breathing room despite a 5-on-3 bid in the third period, but Swayman stood tall down the other end of the ice — turning aside 16 shots over the final 20 minutes of play to secure his third career shutout. 

FOUR UP

Jake DeBrusk: Well, that’s one way to elevate your stock on the trade market. The longer DeBrusk remains in Boston, the more uncomfortable his present situation becomes — but the disgruntled winger did put his best foot forward on Thursday with his power-play snipe.

He also generated another high-danger chance with a strong drive to the net earlier in the game. A game like tonight does serve as a reminder of how effective DeBrusk can be when he’s on his game, but alas. 

Jeremy Swayman: Thursday was a breath of fresh air for Swayman, with the young goalie putting forth his cleanest outing of the season so far. As @Bruins_Stats noted, Swayman posted a 2.5 goals saved above expected, via MoneyPuck. Swayman became the fourth Bruins goalie to record 42 or more saves in a shutout, joining Bill Ranford (3x), Tim Thomas (2x) and Jonas Gustavsson (March 8, 2016).

Brandon Carlo: It’s been far from a sterling season for Carlo, but he put together one of his top performances of the year on Thursday — and that goes far beyond his second-period tally. The stay-at-home blueliner was engaged from the opening puck drop, landing a pair of hits while blocking two shots.

Erik Haula: His final stat line might have been hampered by the fact that two of his shots rang off the post and crossbar, but Haula was awfully engaged and effective all night — setting up Carlo’s tally in the second period with a crisp feed while planting himself down low on the sequence that led to DeBrusk’s power-play strike. The production hasn’t necessarily reflected it, but he does look much more active since getting scratched for a few games last week. 

TWO DOWN

Taylor Hall: Gotta say, this one is really, really splitting hairs here. Because all things considered, the Hall-Bergeron-Pastrnak line has been downright dominant since getting assembled — with Boston holding a 29-11 edge in shots on goal when the 71-37-88 line has been out on the ice at 5v5 play. But despite that puck-possession dominance, they have just one goal to show for it — some of which is a result of overpassing. Hall was, unfortunately, a culprit in this contest, twice passing up a Grade-A shot in search of a picture-perfect feed.

Lack of response: It was a bit concerning to see guys like Patrice Bergeron get knocked around and battered by Nashville and not see much of a response by his teammates. Granted, I wasn't expecting a full donnybrook — but isn't a game like this where someone like Trent Frederic makes an impact? Instead, just 7:13 of ice time for the young forward with one hit. Need a whole lot more from guys like that.

LOOSE PUCKS

Jakub Zboril exits with lower-body injury: It wasn’t all good news for the Bruins — who lost Jakub Zboril early in the second period with what appeared to be a nasty knee injury. 

After colliding with Tanner Jeannot, Zboril’s knee smacked into the boards — forcing the young blueliner to crumple to the ice. He eventually needed help getting to the dressing room, with the 24-year-old unable to put any weight on his leg.

It’s a brutal break for Zboril, who has been playing his best hockey over the last few weeks and really solidified his spot on the B’s third D pair — despite playing on the right side with Mike Reilly.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Quite the snipe here from DeBrusk: 

PARTING THOUGHTS

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now return home for an anticipated matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at TD Garden.