BOSTON (AP) — Mark Kastelic 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.
Devils: Done for the season.
Bruins: Visit Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
The Best Cymbidium and Orchid Show and Sale held in the San Francisco Peninsula will be the … Read moreAnnual Cymbidium & Orchid Show and Sale hosted by the Gold Coast Cymbidium Society & Peninsula Orchid Society
What is a fantasy in music—a form, or a freedom shared between performers? Read moreViolin Fantasie: Polina Sedukh, violin, Irina Behrendt, piano
CA Is Burning said:
The ideological blind sheep are editing & endorsing. When will integrity and honesty return to newspapers, large and small?
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.