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Bruins Get Dismantled By Devils

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AP Photo/Adam Hunger

The Boston Bruins are trying to build some ground to stand on in the crowded  Eastern Conference playoff field but didn’t do themselves any favors on Wednesday night after getting dismantled by the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center by the final score of 5-1.



“What we’re doing is not good enough, and we know it,” Morgan Geekie told reporters in Newark. “Frankly, it’s embarrassing, the way we’re letting these games slip away from us. There are not too many of these left.”

Geekie put Boston on the board first in the opening period with his 12th goal of the season. That, however, was as good as it got for the Bruins.

With the Bruins leading 1-0, Dawson Mercer drew the Devils even less than a minute and a half into the second period. After Justin Brazeau knocked Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom out of the game and was sent to the penalty box for goalie interference, Dougie Hamilton scored on the power play to push New Jersey ahead.

The Devils were poised to extend their lead when they pinned the Bruins in the defensive zone for over three minutes and would’ve if not for Jeremy Swayman standing on his head to keep the puck out of the net.

New Jersey did eventually extend its lead and then some. After Stefan Noesen scored yet another power-play goal,  Mercer added his second goal of the period 12 seconds later to make it 4-1 Devils.

“I feel like we’ve been playing flat in the second period for a while now,” said Nikita Zadorov. “They’re a good team. They’re a good offensive team. They took the momentum back in the second period. We were scrambling, took penalties, and a couple of bounces went in. It was the difference in the game.”

That was enough for the Bruins to waive the white flag as they pulled Swayman at the start of the third period after he stopped 25 of 29 shots, replacing him with Joonas Korpisalo.

But even then, the Devils didn’t let up, as Nico Hischier scored New Jersey’s third goal of the night on the man advantage with under six minutes left to play.

“Their special teams were better than ours tonight, there’s no question,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said. “On our kill, we’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we get clears when it’s on our stick, too. That’s part of the problem. We have opportunities to clear we don’t. When you give good power play second and third opportunities, they’re going to make you pay.”

Korpisalo, Boston’s sacrificial lamb, finished the night with five saves on six shots.

After falling to New Jersey, the Bruins’ record drops to 23-20-6. At this rate, they’ll need to make a deal with the Devil himself to save their season, as a retool ahead of the NHL trade deadline seems all but inevitable.

Boston will host the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night at TD Garden.

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