Bruins Display Depth in 4-1 Win Over Devils 

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins are not letting a shorthanded roster get in the way of their season goals.

Following Saturday’s 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden, Fraser Minten was asked what the recent success without veterans like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy means about the group.

“That we’re a good hockey team,” Minten said. “We’re here to compete this season and push to be a playoff team. We have all the confidence in this room that we can do that.”

Minten, who opened scoring for the B’s in the first period, is one of many players who have stepped up to fill the gap both offensively and defensively as of late. Boston is winning by committee, and it is cultivating confidence.

“That’s important at this stage, especially before Christmas, just knowing that we can play consistently well and get results from it. That is something that we can definitely build on,” Jeremy Swayman, who had 29 saves, said. “We know this league can humble us, so every game is important, and the points are obviously really important at this time of year.”

Minten’s goal came at 17:42 of the first. Mark Kastelic won a puck battle in the corner before popping it over to Minten in the slot, where he snapped it past Devils goaltender Jake Allen for the 1-0 lead.

It was Minten’s fourth goal of the season and first since Nov. 8. The 21-year-old forward has been on the third line with Tanner Jeannot and Kastelic for the majority of the season. Jeannot led all skaters on Saturday with seven hits.

“It is nice to help score. It is not our main job, but we want to. Happy to see some go in,” Minten said. “We might not be the prettiest line, but we are going to go out there and play honest, hard hockey every night. Our goal is that the other team looks at the lineup and says, ‘Don’t want those guys coming down on us.’”

​New Jersey tied things 1-1 at the end of the first with a tally from Timo Meier at 18:39, but it was none other than Morgan Geekie who put Boston ahead in the middle frame.

​Elias Lindholm collected the rebound of Nikita Zadorov’s initial shot and swung it over to Geekie on the left side to one-time in at 1:12, making it 2-1. It marked Geekie’s 22nd goal of the season, which is ranked second-most in the NHL, and eighth point in four games. It was also Lindholm’s fourth assist in two games.

“We’re just trying to feed off of each other. Obviously, we had chemistry at the end of last year – me, him and Dave,” Geekie said of Lindholm. “I think we’re getting back to figuring out where each other [are]...It is good to see a little more eye-to-eye on some plays and just be in the right spots for each other.”

The Bruins weathered the Devils’ strong push throughout the second and defended their advantage in the third period. Casey Mittelstadt gave the B’s some insurance with a shot off a pretty tic-tac-toe play from the second line with Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson at 16:25 to make it 3-1. Andrew Peeke’s empty-net goal at 17:46 brought the contest to its final 4-1 score.

“It’s depth,” Zadorov said. “I think every guy chipped in. There was a message in here that you don’t need to do extra, you’ve just got to be yourself, you’ve got to play your own hockey. We’re good enough to win games like that.”

Head coach Marco Sturm shared the sentiment.

“I am very proud of my team. I think it’s always a group effort to do that. I can have the greatest plan and system, whatever it is. But if you don’t buy in, it’s almost useless,” Sturm said. “For me, it’s a group effort. Not just the players, the whole coaching staff, [Sweeney], management. There’s a lot more to it. That’s what I am proud of.”

The Bruins now depart for a three-game road trip, which includes matchups against the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild.