Kyle Palmieri scored his first two goals of the season Thursday night, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 at TD Garden in Boston.
After a scoreless first period, Palmieri scored two in a row in the second for a 2-0 New Jersey lead. His first one came at 1:34, and then he added a shorthanded marker at 10:39. Boston (10-3-2) cut the lead in half when Jake Debrusk scored his first of the year 1:57 later on the powerplay. Pavel Zacha tallied the game winner for the Devils at 15:37 to make it 3-1. The hosts cut it to a goal late in the third to give them a chance on the powerplay, when Charlie McAvoy scored at 18:54 with the goalie pulled on a 6 on 4 advantage. They then pulled goalie Jaroslav Halak again but couldn’t come up with an equalizer, dropping their second straight game in regulation after a nine game streak without a loss in regular time. David Krejci also suffered a lower body injury in the first period and didn’t return for the Bruins.
Halak made 23 saves in the loss in net for Boston. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves in the win, the second Devils win over the Bruins this season (3-2 in overtime on January 16). New Jersey is now 6-3-2. The Bruins were playing their first home game since January 28, and Thursday nights game will be the only one at TD Garden for them in the month of February. Boston takes on the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday afternoon in an outside game at Lake Tahoe at 2 p.m.
