Swayman, Bruins hang on against Avalanche to end 6-game skid

BOSTON -- Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves, and the Boston Bruins ended a six-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at TD Garden on Saturday.

Viktor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont and Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins (4-6-0), who finished a three-game homestand 1-2-0. Mason Lohrei had three assists.

"When you play a team like [Colorado], you need strong special teams and you need a goalie who can stop the puck, and maybe steal a game. [Swayman] was excellent again today," Bruins coach Marco Sturm said.

Artturi Lehkonen scored twice for the Avalanche (5-1-3), who lost in regulation for the first time this season and are 0-1-2 in their past three games. Nathan MacKinnon had two assists, and Scott Wedgewood made 16 saves.

"I thought we played well," MacKinnon said. "It's just unfortunate we couldn't put it away early. We had a lot of looks, a lot of chances, and we were dominating, but let them back in it. They held it down the second half of the game, but the first half of the game we had chances to get a good lead … I thought we really outplayed them, honestly. Swayman had a night."

Lehkonen gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 4:26 of the first period, receiving MacKinnon's backhand pass from behind the net and beating Swayman to the short side with a shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle.

Arvidsson scored at 14:16 to tie the game 1-1. He recovered his own rebound behind the net and scored his first goal of the season when his shot from the end wall ricocheted off Wedgewood's blocker on the short side.

"I've been all over it and shooting a lot, so it was nice to see it finally go in," Arvidsson said.

Eyssimont gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead 39 seconds later at 14:55. He scored on a one-timer from the left hashmarks after Tanner Jeannot cut through the neutral zone to create a 2-on-1.

Geekie extended the lead to 3-1 with five seconds remaining in the second period. He recovered a loose puck behind the net, quickly cut back and stuffed the puck past Wedgewood on the short side.

"That was the biggest goal of the game," Sturm said. "Going into the third period with a two-goal lead was huge for us. There was only a few seconds left … and that was the biggest play of the game today."

Lehkonen scored his second of the game to get Colorado within 3-2 with 20 seconds remaining and Wedgewood pulled for an extra skater.

Prior to the team's practice Friday, the Bruins players held an hour-long meeting about what they needed to do to end the losing streak.

"It feels good to beat one of the top teams in the League," Swayman said. "To get it done at home shows the resiliency we have in this locker room and it's something we can really build on."

Boston had a season-high 34 blocked shots, and was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

"It's the best thing ever," Swayman said. "It's a momentum shifter in a game when guys are sacrificing their bodies for the greater good of the team. That's important for us and gives us a ton of momentum moving forward and I'm really thankful to have these guys in front of me."

NOTES: Bruins defenseman Jordan Harris, who is on injured reserve and has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury, will be out "for a bit" and could have surgery, Sturm said. … Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who was a game-time decision, missed his fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury. … Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar assisted on Lehkonen's first goal and has a point in each of Colorado's first five road games of a season for the second time in his career (also five games in 2024-25). Only two defensemen in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history have posted a longer stretch to start a season: Jeff Brown (eight games in 1986-87; John-Michael Liles, six games in 2010-11).