FINAL: Bruins 4, Jets 1 - Bruins win defensive battle, DeBrusk scores insurance goal shorthanded

The Bruins defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Monday night and have now won five games in a row. The Bruins got on the board first 2:20 into the game on a Jakub Lauko goal to make it 1-0.

Winnipeg responded at the 4:16 mark thanks to a goal from Vladislav Namestnikov to tie it at one. While a lot of the game was highlighted by defense, I thought that the Bruins picked it up in the second period living in the offensive zone while outshooting the Jets 10-4. The Bruins also did a nice job overall on the boards with the forechecks and one player that stood out to me on the forecheck was Jake DeBrusk. 

The Bruins got off to a slow start in the third period as Winnipeg was outshooting them and was more aggressive. However, DeBrusk came up big again to give the Bruins some much needed insurance with a shorthanded goal at the 14:35 mark, making it 3-1 Bruins.

 Brad Marchand added an empty net goal at the 19:05 mark to make it 4-1. The Bruins return to action on Wednesday night to finish their five-game home stand when they face the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• This was an old fashioned defensive battle and I thought the Bruins did a good job overall on the boards.
• Charlie Coyle now has seven goals,10 assists,+8 rating, two PP goals and four GW goals in his last 14 games. Coyle has been big for the Bruins all season. Coyle has now surpassed his career high in goals with the Bruins at 17 (was previously 16). 

• Lauko scored his second goal in three games. 
• Don't forget Jeremy Swayman. While he only had 20 saves, he had to make some big saves in the third period when the Bruins got a little sloppy. 
• This was a good litmus test game for the Bruins and they answered the call with a big time win that had a playoff feel. Boston has now won five-straight games. 

THREE STARS:

3. Morgan Geekie (1 assist) 

2. Charlie Coyle (1 goal and 1 assist) 

1. Jeremy Swayman (20 saves)

________________________________

WHO: Jets (30-10-4) at Bruins (28-8-9)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston.
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE
ROSTERS

BRUINS
 Marchand –  Coyle –  Pastrnak
 Van Riemsdyk –  Zacha –  DeBrusk
 Lauko –  Geekie –  Frederic
Boqvist –  Poitras –  Heinen

 Grzelcyk –  McAvoy
 Lindholm –  Carlo
Forbort –  Wotherspoon

 Swayman
 Ullmark

JETS
Connor-Lowry-Iafallo
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Toninato-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-AJF

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt 

Hellebuyck

PREGAME NOTES
The Bruins continue their five-game home stand Monday night versus the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. Jim Montgomery told reporters this morning that Parker Wotherspoon will sub in for Kevin Shattenkirk on Boston's third line with Derek Forbort. David Pastrnak was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday after recording five goals and seven points across three games from Jan.14-20. 

The last time these two teams met Winnipeg defeated the Bruins 5-1 north of the border back on December 22nd. “A great matchup," Jim Montgomery said this morning. “Last time we were in there, I thought they embarrassed us. They played the right way, they were on top of us, they didn’t give us any room and we have to be prepared to fight for every foot of ice. Doesn’t matter if it’s our own end or their end tonight. It’s a good challenge for us,” Montgomery continued. The Jets enter tonight coming off a 2-1 overtime win in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. Nikolaj Ehlers scored the game winner at the 4:14 mark of overtime for Winnipeg. The Jets are tied for the second best team in the NHL (65 points), trailing only Vancouver (66). Winnipeg has gone 10-1-1 since December 22nd with their only regulation loss coming to the Flyers on January 13th. 

The Bruins currently rank fourth in the league on the power play (27.3%) and fifth on the penalty kill (83.6%). Jeremy Swayman is ranked fourth in the NHL with a .923 save percentage. Pastrnak is currently third in the league in points (66) and goals (30) and tied for fourth with 27 power play goals. The Jets lead the NHL with a 72.7 points percentage in 44 games. Winnipeg has lost only three games in regulation this season. The Jets are first in the league in allowing only 2.25 goals per game. Winnipeg has a 94.7% penalty kill in their last eight games. The Jets have gone up 25% in the NHL with a penalty kill at 77%. Connor Hellebuyck is second in the NHL with a 92.7 save percentage, while Laurent Brossoit has a 92.3 save percentage in 11 games. The two goaltenders have combined for a 94.9 save percentage during their last 14 games. Kyle Connor leads the Jets in goals (18) and Mark Scheifele leads the team in points (41).