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The Boston Bruins put an emphatic end to their two-game losing streak on Thursday night, dismantling the Utah Mammoth by a score of 6-1. The victory was powered by a resurgent special teams unit and a stifling defensive effort.
Boston's power play, which had been held scoreless through the first four games of the season, erupted for three goals on four opportunities. Forward Morgan Geekie netted one with the man advantage, while David Pastrnak added two.
"We work on it," Pastrnak said of the power play's improvement. "We get better. Like I said, that's the beauty of hockey, right? One night, it doesn't go your way. Next night, you are nearly perfect. So that's the important thing to remember what we did right."
The penalty kill was equally impressive, blanking Utah on all seven of its power-play chances—the most opportunities allowed by Boston this season.
Key Analysis
Turnovers had plagued the Bruins during their recent skid, with 24 giveaways against Minnesota and 21 against Ottawa, three of which led directly to Senators goals. On Thursday, Boston reduced that number to 18, a marked improvement. The Bruins also capitalized on a forced turnover by Elias Lindholm, which led to Casey Mittelstadt's first-period goal past goaltender Sebastian Cossa.
Defensively, the Bruins were dominant, recording 23 blocked shots to Utah's six and winning the takeaway battle 6-3. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman was stellar, stopping 36 shots and allowing just one goal for a .973 save percentage. Though he has yet to record a shutout in 2026-27, Swayman's 36 saves are his most since March 21 against Detroit (42) and the fourth-most across the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
The Bruins will look to build on this performance when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET on NESN.