Bruins defeat Devils, extend point streak to 17 games

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins extended their point streak to 17 games with a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Tuukka Rask made 37 saves and is 15-0-2 in his past 17 starts for the Bruins (28-10-8), who have won three in a row and are 13-0-4 in their past 17 games. That is tied for the third-longest point streak in their history, which Boston has achieved three other times (16-0-1, Jan. 19-March 11, 1930; 15-0-2, Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 1977; 15-0-2, Jan. 5-Feb. 13, 1983).
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Bruins highlights]
The Bruins' longest point streak is 23 games (15-0-8), from Dec. 22, 1940 to Feb. 23, 1941.
Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash scored for Boston, which won despite allowing the first goal for the sixth straight game and getting outshot 20-9 in the first period.

"Yeah, we didn't have a great start. We didn't have a great game," Marchand said. "They publicly had a ... closed-door meeting last night so we knew they were going to come out hard and play a good game and they did. You've got to give them credit. But luckily we found a way to win and that's all that matters."
Devils goaltender Cory Schneider left the game after the second period with a lower-body injury; he allowed three goals on 20 shots. Ken Appleby made four saves in relief for New Jersey (24-15-8), which lost its third straight game and is 2-6-3 in its past 11.
Miles Wood and Damon Severson scored for the Devils.
"I thought we played extremely well," New Jersey captain Andy Greene said. "Bottom line is we didn't find a way to win or get a point, get to overtime and then see what happens after that. It wasn't for lack of effort or execution. It was a hard-fought game and like I said, this time of year and going forward, it's a fine line between winning and losing."
Wood gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 2:05 into the second period with a tip of a Will Butcher shot.
The Bruins tied it 1-1 when Nash's shot from the goal line went off Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen and past Schneider at 7:03.
Severson scored on a 3-on-2 at 9:03 to make it 2-1.

Bergeron scored at 5-on-3 12:53 into the period to tie it 2-2 before Marchand scored with 33 seconds left to make it 3-2. Marchand kept the puck on a 2-on-1, faked twice to his forehand and beat Schneider with a backhand through the short side.
Rask made 12 saves in the third period, stopping Severson on a breakaway at 7:33, then making a save on his rebound attempt three seconds later. In the final 3:43, Rask made three saves on open shots by Vatanen with traffic in the slot.
"There's a lot of traffic and a lot of tip stuff," Rask said. "They get shots through and they crash the net hard. So a lot of times you can't let guys bump into and nick your skates so you end up sideways and whatnot. But you know it's a battle sometimes, goalies have to battle through stuff like that too and just try to stay as compact as possible I guess."

Goal of the game

Marchand's goal with 33 seconds left in the second period.

Save of the game

Rask's save on Vatanen with 18 seconds left.

Highlight of the game

Rask's saves on Severson's breakaway and rebound at 7:29 of the third period.

They said it

"Two games in a row there. At least this one he had an intermission to whatever, loosen up a little bit. But we're extremely confident in him, we are. We have to be. You saw the way he handled himself the last two games he's been in there." -- Devils captain Andy Greene on backup goaltender Ken Appleby making his first two NHL appearances in relief in the past three games
"Yeah, I was looking for [David Krejci] originally and then he (Vatanen) took him away and then I just tried to make a move. I got lucky a bit, but it worked out." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand on his goal

Need to know

There was no update on Schneider or Devils forward Marcus Johansson, who left the game with 1:59 left in the third period. ... New Jersey was without its leading scorer, forward Taylor Hall (hand) for a second straight game. He is to be re-evaluated Wednesday. … Boston played its first game without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who had a procedure to treat an abnormal heart rhythm Monday and is expected to be out for two weeks. … The Bruins have won the past six games against the Devils in Boston since the last New Jersey win on Oct. 26, 2013. ... The Devils' 20 shots in the first period were the most allowed by Boston in any period this season. ... There was 13-minute delay after Bergeron's goal because of a clock malfunction.

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What's next

Devils: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Bruins: At the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, NESN, NHL.TV)