Swayman makes 28 saves, Bruins shut out Predators

NASHVILLE --Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Nashville Predators 5-0 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

"It's really hard to get wins in this league, let alone shutouts," Swayman said. "It's a team effort. The guys in front of me made it possible, so I couldn't have done it without them."
It was Swayman's second shutout of the season and seventh in the NHL; he made 42 saves in a 2-0 win against the Predators on Dec. 2, 2021.
"[Nashville] is definitely one you circle on the calendar, definitely a fun city to come visit," he said. "They played a good game and I'm really happy with the two points."
Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist, and Nick Foligno and Hampus Lindholm each had two assists for the Bruins (41-8-5), who have won two straight, including a 3-2 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, following a 1-3-1 stretch.
"We're trying to stick to the process," said Bergeron, who is Boston's captain. "I think these last two games are more how we want to play, especially [in Dallas]. We want to build from that. We're aware there are going to be some dips in the season, and it's about being aware and committed to rectifying things sooner rather than later and I was pleased with this (two-game) road trip."

Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the Predators (25-21-6), who have lost three of four since the All-Star break and have been outscored 15-5.
"I think there was a [lack] of execution out there by us," Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "We see a lot of missed passes, some odd-man rushes that we'd like to generate something and we don't. There's a willingness and a price to pay if you want to win in this league. Certainly [the Bruins were] doing it throughout the game."
Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 2:54 of the first period, scoring on a give-and-go with Bergeron.
Craig Smith made it 2-0 at 1:11 of the second period when he chipped his own rebound before the puck went in off the stick of Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.
Bergeron then extended it to 3-0 at 8:06, scoring on a stretch pass by Lindholm for a power-play goal.
The Bruins entered Thursday with the seventh-best power play in the NHL (24.2 percent) but were 0-for-20 in their previous six games with the man-advantage.
They finished 1-for-4.
"We had some good movement [on the power play]," Bergeron said. "We created some momentum out of it. You're not always going to score on it, but at least if you are able to create some chances, you give your team a boost and I thought we did that."

Derek Forbort made it 4-0 at 11:15 when his pass intended for Charlie Coyle in front deflected off the stick of Lauzon.
"To be honest, we came in the room after the second and we were all embarrassed [with] what was happening out there," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "It definitely wasn't enough. It was a 5-0 game, so there wasn't enough pushback."
Trent Frederic redirected a spinning pass by Foligno at 13:47 of the third period for the 5-0 final.
"It was nice to get a game where we not only got the lead, but extended it like we did," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. "I thought Bergeron and our fourth line (Frederic, A.J. Greer and Jakub Lauko) did a lot of great things tonight.
"Our best player was Swayman because they had a lot of good looks and he was patient on his feet, made a lot of shoulder saves, glove saves and didn't give up any rebounds."
NOTES:Boston is 27-0-3 when it scores first. … Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk missed his 17th straight game with a leg injury. Montgomery said he's "very hopeful" DeBrusk will return Saturday against the New York Islanders. … Bergeron has 129 NHL power-play goals, tying Cam Neely for fourth on Boston's all-time list. Ray Bourque leads with 164. ... Lindholm has 200 NHL assists. He has 36 points (six goals, 30 assists) in 54 games this season, surpassing his previous career high of 34 points set in 78 games in 2014-15 with the Anaheim Ducks.