Boston Bruins

Marchand, Geekie Lead Bruins Past Blackhawks In Third Straight Win

Published

1 month ago

December 4, 2024

Andrew Fantucchio

AP Photo/Erin Hooley

It took nearly two months, but the Boston Bruins finally have their first official winning streak of the season.

On the back of two goals from both Brad Marchand and Morgan Geekie, the Bruins picked up their third straight win and second in as many nights by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at United Center on Wednesday.

“At this time of year, with the travel and the schedule with that back-to-back, we’re definitely very happy with the win and getting those points,” Marchand said to reporters in Chicago. “We have to continue to climb in the standings. Every point matters. Huge win for us tonight, and it’s one we continue to build on.”

The Bruins found themselves down 1-0 early on, but Geekie evened the score at 12:17 of the first period by crashing the net and knocking in a puck that was loose in the crease after his initial shot leaked through Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek.

“It helps having good leadership and game management, and understanding that there’s a lot of time left in the game when you’re down one goal,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said to reporters in Chicago. “You don’t have to go searching for it right away. You don’t open up your game and play a different style than you want to play. We stick with what works for us.”

Marchand put the Bruins in front at 2:58 of the middle frame when he collected a cross-ice feed from David Pastrnak and dropped to a knee to fire a one-timer from the right face-off dot, putting Boston ahead 2-1.

The advantage grew to 3-1 when Marchand struck again less than three minutes later as he tucked in a rebound for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Brad is bringing it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4Uo8h1zrFP

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 5, 2024

Read More: Bruins Captain Brad Marchand Burns Paul Bissonnette Again

By scoring twice against Chicago, Marchand now has two multi-goal games this season and 65 in his career.

Geekie doesn’t have nearly as many multi-goal games as Marchand, but he drew himself a little bit closer when he found the back of the net again at 5:02 of the third period.

After forcing a turnover in the defensive end, Justin Brazeau sprung Geekie on a breakaway with a stretch pass that he used to score his fourth goal of the season.

Geeks is geekin 🤫 pic.twitter.com/knyfxDZfTi

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 5, 2024

“I was trying to kind of hide,” Geekie said to reporters in Chicago. “March made another good change, and I was trying to hide behind the second D, so I honestly didn’t really see much. I saw him get the puck and took off. Normally, that’s the first look when you’re kind of outnumbered.”

Prior to Geekie’s second goal, Jason Dickinson brought the Blackhawks within one late in the middle frame as he snapped a wrist shot past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.

That and a goal by Alex Vlasic just over a minute into the game were the only two pucks that made their way past Swayman. The Bruins netminder began the evening by learning he had been named to Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster and finished it with 20 saves on 22 shots for his eighth win of the season.

“I’m really happy with how the team is evolving, and with team play comes good individual play,” Swayman said to reporters in Chicago. “That’s a testament to our work and our commitment to our game plan. It’s really good to see results, especially in a back-to-back. That’s a great momentum push for us.”

There seemed to be a pattern every time the Bruins added to their total.

While Marchand and Geekie took care of the actual scoring, each goal was set up by some combination of Pastrnak, Brazeau, Mason Lohrei, and Jordan Oesterle, who all finished the night with two assists.

As for the Bruins as a whole, they’re now 13-11-3 and find themselves just three points back of the Atlantic Division lead after winning six of their eight games since Sacco took over on Nov. 19.

“We took it upon ourselves to turn the ship around,” said Geekie. “We weren’t happy with our performance up until then as well, so I think you’re starting to see us turn into the team that you know we can be, and we’re still growing.”

The Bruins next face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at TD Garden, with puck drop set for 1 p.m. EST.