Blackwood makes 40 saves, Devils shut out Bruins

BOSTON -- Mackenzie Blackwood made 40 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday.

Blackwood's shutout was his first of the season and sixth in the NHL. He preserved the win when he kicked the puck off the goal line with the toe of his skate with 8.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
"I just saw it kind of dropping from the air, so you push your leg at it as best you can," Blackwood said. "I saw it kind of going in, so I was like, 'Uh, here we go.' And just give it the best effort you got."
Blackwood's save, which was upheld after a lengthy review, impressed Devils coach Lindy Ruff.
"An unbelievable move on Blackwood's part. … That's some serious stretching, that's some serious yoga, that's some serious control on his part to make sure he's not the one that helps it go the rest of the way over the line," he said.

Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils (13-16-4), who had lost two straight and are 4-0-1 against the Bruins this season, including 3-0-0 in Boston.
Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves for the Bruins (17-9-5), who are 1-1-1 since returning from their COVID-19 pause that caused two games to be rescheduled.
"Another solid effort. We clearly outplayed a team," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Got the goals the other night against Buffalo (a 3-2 win on Saturday). Similar tonight, we got to the front of the net, really tried to generate second and third chances against this guy because whatever he saw he seemed to stop, did stop. But didn't work out."

Palmieri gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 16:37 of the first period when Ty Smith's shot redirected in off the forward's stick.
"I think, especially when playing against these guys, we've had a recipe that we've gotten rewarded for with wins," Palmieri said. "And I think sometimes it's a lot easier for a group to stick with a game plan when you find those rewards. We knew the kind of game we had to play. We had to play great D and I think as a whole group we did that tonight, and obviously the score reflected it."
Patrice Bergeron appeared to tie the game with Halak pulled for the extra skater at 18:50 of the third period, but Ruff challenged the play for goaltender interference, and the call was reversed after it was determined that David Krejci knocked the puck out of Blackwood's glove.
"Well, you know, immediately when I saw it, it looked to me like he pitchforked [Blackwood] when he basically had the puck covered," Ruff said. "And I just said right then we're going to challenge this. I said to the other coaches, 'I'm challenging it for sure.' You know I think you can be wrong, you can be right, some of these challenges are really hard, but with the way that my goaltender played, it's one that you have to challenge."
Boston, which outshot New Jersey 17-5 in the third period, still has yet to score a goal at 5-on-5 against the Devils this season.
"I think we have to build from that," Bergeron said. "A lot of really good looks in the third and the way we want to generate and bring it to the net and get second and third chances. And I thought we did that, and we have to find a way, that's what it comes down to."
NOTES:The teams will complete the two-game set here Tuesday. ... The Devils were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, which included a double minor in the third period, and are 12-for-13 in their past five games. … Bruins forward Charlie Coyle played his 600th NHL game. … Boston forward Karson Kuhlman returned after missing one game because of an upper-body injury.