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Talking Points: Marchand Leads Way Again, Bruins Beat Devils 5-2

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Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand scored twice to lead the Bruins to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils Saturday in Newark, NJ.

Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had three assists; captain Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist and David Pastrnak had two helpers, while forward Erik Haula scored his first goal as a Bruin.

Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist for the Devils.

Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was solid making 27 saves for the B’s in the win and Devils goalie Jonathan Bernier let in four goals on 35 shots in the loss.

GOLD STAR: Brad Marchand – As he has been three times already this season, Brad Marchand is the Gold Star here again. Just 12 games into the season, Marchand’s shoulders have to be feeling it because he has continually carried his teammates on them. Marchand now has eight goals this season after lighting the lamp twice on Saturday. His first goal of the game came on the powerplay at 4:10 of the second period and put the Bruins up 2-0 on the Devils.

After the Devils cut the lead to 2-1 just 28 seconds later on a goal by Dawson Mercer (1g,1a) at 4:38 of the middle frame, the leading goal scorer for the Boston Bruins struck again at 6:52 to make it 3-1 and the Bruins never really looked back.

BLACK EYE: Brandon Carlo – Let’s make it clear that IMHO, Brandon Carlo is one of the nicest guys on the Boston Bruins roster but right now he’s being a little too nice, and more importantly, too careless coming out of the defensive zone. The nice guy Carlo is apparently already in the Christmas mood because he’s giving away scoring chances too often in the last few games. Luckily, unlike in the 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman saved the day on Carlo’s big giveaway Saturday. Carlo finished a minus 2 and needs to clean his game up ASAP!

TURNING POINT: Marchand’s second goal – The Boston Bruins continued their troublesome trend of allowing the opponent to score within a minute of scoring themselves Saturday. As mentioned above, the Devils struck fast after Marchand’s first goal to tie it at one, but it was Marchand who answered that goal just 2:14 later.

 

HONORABLE MENTION: Charlie McAvoy – The Boston Bruins defenseman was an absolute beast on Saturday with three assists and six blocked shots in 23:45 TOI. He also finished a plus 4 and had three shots on net.

BY THE NUMBERS: 1 – New Boston Bruins center Erik Haula finally found the back of the net for his first goal of the season and his first as a Bruin.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “It was great that we were able to keep our composure and put a good third period together and separate that lead a little bit.” –Brad Marchand on the Bruins putting a strong finish on third periods that have been a problem this season.

 

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