Halak makes 32 saves, Bruins hold on against Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson scored his first NHL goal, and Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves for the Boston Bruins in a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Jake DeBrusk scored for Boston (11-6-3), which has won 13 consecutive games against the Coyotes.
"It's the way you win a close-checking, low-scoring game," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "You need goaltending to win, and we got that."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Coyotes highlights]
Brad Richardson scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for Arizona (9-9-1), which has lost three of its past five games.
Forsbacka Karlsson gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 1:12 into the first period. Noel Acciari intercepted a pass from Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson behind the net, and his wraparound attempt went to Forsbacka Karlsson in the slot. Acciari's assist was his first point of the season.
"It's difficult to describe, it's such a great feeling," Forsbacka Karlsson said. "Noel made a great play, it's all a credit to him and I just tried to get it in. It's nice to get the first one so you don't start thinking about it."

DeBrusk extended the lead to 2-0 at 2:45, getting a rebound in the crease off a rush with Brad Marchand.
"We talked about having a good start and obviously, we didn't come out the way we wanted," Ekman-Larsson said. "We got down two goals pretty quick and it's tough to get back in this League when you get down like that. I think that's something we learned."
Matt Grzelcyk appeared to make it 3-0 at 17:26, but Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet challenged for goaltender interference, and the call was reversed after a video review.
"The first period we weren't ready to go, we weren't strong on pucks, we weren't finishing checks and it ended up costing us the game," Richardson said.
Richardson cut it to 2-1 at 9:10 of the second period, scoring off Vinnie Hinostroza's pass from the slot at the left post during a stretch when Arizona outshot Boston 19-1.

"We had our chances, I don't know what else to say," Tocchet said. "We had a great second period, and we had our chances to get the equalizer. We had a bunch of chances and we just didn't score."
Halak stopped Michael Grabner on a 2-on-0 shorthanded breakaway at 2:43 of the second period, and made four saves in the final minute of the third period with the Coyotes on a power play.
"I'm trying to get out there and make the saves, help the guys and they do the same for me, blocking shots and making plays for me," Halak said. "We stuck to it."
The Bruins played without forward Patrice Bergeron, who was sent back to Boston with an upper body injury he sustained against the Dallas Stars on Friday.

They said it

"I think we deserved one of those. We've had a lot of goals come back on us, another one tonight, and we hit a lot of crossbars, but we put it behind us and played the right way in the third (period)." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
"The second (period) wasn't the cleanest from our side, we made some turnovers in the zone and they spent extra time in our zone. The third period we came out and skated hard again and had a really good response. For the most part, we kept them on the outside, and that let me see the puck." -- Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak

"We started engaging in the game (in the second period). We came out and talked about it, and we battled back and had a great second. But at the end, you're looking for a bounce, and we didn't get it." -- Coyotes forward Brad Richardson

Need to know

With six Bruins defensemen injured, rookies Connor Clifton and Jakub Zboril played one night after each made their NHL debut against Dallas. Clifton had five hits in 20:02, and Zboril played 10:59. … Boston hasn't lost to Arizona since Oct. 9, 2010. … The Bruins don't play again until Wednesday in Detroit and will remain in Arizona for a few more days. … Halak is 9-3-2 against Arizona. … Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers (lower body) is out indefinitely.

What's next

Bruins: At the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D+, NESN, NHL.TV)
Coyotes:Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-A Plus, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)