Goaltender Jeremy Swayman broke a personal six-game losing streak with his fourth shutout as the Boston Bruins, depleted by an active NHL trade deadline, blanked the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Saturday.
Swayman made 26 saves, including an incredible stick stop on Brandon Hagel in front of an open cage with 15:40 left, for his 16th career shutout and first win since Feb. 4 (1-4-2).
Boston won for just the second time in 10 matches (2-6-2).
In the Bruins’ first game since trading captain Brad Marchand on Friday and playing without injured defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, former Lightning forward Cole Koepke scored twice for his first career multi-goal game and Nikita Zadorov added an empty-net goal. Mark Kastelic scored in his 200th NHL game.
Playing without captain Victor Hedman (lower-body injury) on the rear guard, the Lightning got 21 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy but were shut out for the second time as their seven-game home winning streak ended.
Boston made five trades before Friday’s deadline, including shipping off fan favorites Marchand (to the Florida Panthers) and Charlie Coyle (Colorado Avalanche), but took the play to the Lightning with its new-look lineup.
In the second period, Koepke took a dish from Casey Mittelstadt — acquired in the Coyle trade — and flashed in on a breakaway against Vasilevskiy. He then shoveled a shot and scored for the eighth time at 10:32.
The period ended with recent acquisition Oliver Bjorkstrand banging a shot off the near post with 23 seconds to go, leaving the Lightning scoreless through 40 minutes on their home ice for only the second time.
Kastelic fired a puck from near center ice as Vasilevskiy was skating back into his crease, a shot that Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh deflected in at 13:16 of the third for Kastelic’s first tally in 23 games.
Tampa Bay pulled Vasilevskiy with 3:45 left for the extra skater, but Zadorov hit the empty net at 14:52 before Koepke notched his second marker 61 seconds later.
–Field Level Media
