Marchand, Bergeron lift Bruins past Devils

NEWARK, N.J. --Brad Marchand scored twice for the Boston Bruins in a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist, Charlie McAvoy had three assists, and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for the Bruins (7-5-0).
Boston's top line of Marchand, Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined for six points (three goals, three assists).
"We push each other, constantly," Marchand said of his linemates. "Even tonight, we had a pretty good game, but there's still times where we were getting on each other for needing to be better in situations.
"Obviously, we have a lot of fun out there and our chemistry has come a long way where we can just kind of read off each other, but we're not light on each other either. I love that we want to hold each other to a high accountability and every night we expect to be good."

Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist for the Devils (7-4-2), who had a three-game win streak and four-game point streak end. Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves in his 400th NHL game.
"They probably blocked a lot of shots (25), but when you don't get inside, it allows them to turn [to] the puck and we didn't shoot pucks quick enough," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "The result was we spent too much time outside the (face-off) dot."
Erik Haula gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season at 17:37 of the first period when he scored on a rebound from the bottom of the right face-off circle after Bernier stopped an attempt from the slot by Anton Blidh.
"It felt good (to get the first goal)," Haula said. "Definitely could have had a few already, so it's a good feeling when the first one goes in and you can forget about that one and start thinking about the second one."
Marchand scored a power-play goal on a snap shot from the point through a screen at 4:10 of the second period for a 2-0 lead.
"I have a lot of respect for the way [Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak] play," Ruff said. "They are the typical guys you wish you had on your team. We know that to win, you've got to do your part to make sure you limit them."

Mercer scored his fifth goal of the season 28 seconds later on a wrist shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle after taking a one-touch pass from Andreas Johnsson to make it 2-1.
After Swayman made a left-pad save against Tomas Tatar at 6:46 of the second, Marchand made it 3-1 six seconds later on a rebound from the slot.
"It's the best feeling ever when you can do your part and you see guys doing theirs," Swayman said. "It's a great feeling and obviously brings momentum in our side, so I was really happy with that. Good for [Marchand]; he had a great game."
Marchand has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak.
"A majority of the goals scored in the NHL is around the net, and we have to do a little bit better job of getting there by funneling pucks to the net when you don't have anything," Marchand said. "When we start to do that, we create more opportunities. We got a couple of goals off rebounds; it's something that we need to continue to build into our game."
Bratt pulled the Devils within 3-2 on a one-timer from the right face-off circle at 19:24.
Bergeron scored from the goal line to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead at 10:49 of the third period. Jake DeBrusk scored an empty-net goal at 19:06 for the 5-2 final.
NOTES: Boston is 7-0-3 in its past 10 games at New Jersey, its longest active road point streak versus one opponent. Its last regular loss here was Jan. 2, 2017 (3-0). … Marchand has 50 multigoal games, tying Bergeron for fifth in Bruins history. Phil Esposito is first with 104. ... There was no update on Devils defenseman Ryan Graves, who sustained an undisclosed injury 10:49 into the third period and did not return. "We're hopeful he'll be able to play (Sunday at the New York Rangers)," Ruff said. ... Mercer had his third multipoint game, tying Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond for the most by a rookie this season. ... McAvoy had six blocked shots and was plus-4. ... Devils forward Tyce Thompson was a late scratch because of an undisclosed injury sustained in a 4-0 win against the New York Islanders on Thursday.