BOSTON (AP) — Mark Kasetlic scored twice in the first period, Jeremy Swayman earned his second shutout of the season and the Boston Bruins clinched the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
Boston needed a win to lock up the top wild-card position. The Bruins will face the Atlantic Division champion Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
Ten Boston players recorded points in the game. Sean Kuraly had a pair of assists and David Pastrnak reached 100 points for the fourth straight season with an assist on one of the Bruins’ four goals in the first.
Morgan Geekie and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Boston, which finished the regular season under first-year coach Marco Sturm at 45-27-10 and returned to the playoffs one year after tying for the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 33-39-10.
After congratulating Swayman, the Bruins gathered at center ice and raised their sticks to salute their fans.
New Jersey goalie Nico Daws allowed four goals on 12 shots in the opening period before getting some stronger defensive support the rest of the way. Daws finished with 23 saves.
Swayman stopped 21 shots for his first shutout since a 3-0 win over Detroit on Jan. 13 and the 18th of his career.
Boston got goals in the opening and closing minutes of the first and took firm command with a 4-0 lead after one period.
Geekie scored 53 seconds in and Arvidsson scored his 25th of the season with just 6.4 seconds left in the period. In between, Kastelic scored twice and the Bruins cruised the rest of the way against the lottery-bound Devils, who finished 42-37-3.
Pastrnak needed one more goal to reach 30 for the ninth time, which would have been a first in franchise history.
Up next
Devils: Done for the season.
Bruins: Visit Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs.
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