Bruins vs. Mammoth

The Boston Bruins are back home after a 2-1 road trip that ended Sunday with a predictably loss to the Minnesota Wild, who were debuting fresh acquisition Quinn Hughes after a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks.

The banged-up Bruins, meanwhile, made a waiver-wire pickup of 24-year-old. left-shot defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, who is not in tonight’s lineup.

This is the first of four home games through the weekend for the Bruins, who see Edmonton on Thursday night, Vancouver on Saturday night and Ottawa on Sunday night.

FIRST PERIOD

Jeremy Swayman makes a point-blank snare of a one-timer off the stick of Kailer Yamamoto.

Pavel Zacha to the penalty box at 6:48 after digging too hard along the boards and taking a tripping minor. Utah to the powerplay.

Barret Hayton makes the tip of the point shot that trickles through Swayman for a 1-0 Utah lead 8:34 into the game. Powerplay goal, and the Bruins are chasing and still getting outplayed at 5v5.

Pushback shift for Boston’s top line creates some ooh’s and aah’s in the TD Garden crowd, which is full and in an apparently festive frame of mind.

David Pastrnak offside reaching for a TD pass that he flicks the backhand. No Utah reaction for several seconds until … someone thought they needed to announce themselves, but it was ill timed.

Bruins to the powerplay with 5:11 left in the first period – JJ Peterka in the penalty box for slashing.

Morgan Geekie answers from the left circle with 3:59 left in the period, tying the game at 1-1. Pastrnak with the primary assist and Elias Lindholm with the secondary touch. The goal is Geekie’s 23rd of the season in Game 34.

Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot trying to inject some physicality to build momentum off the Geekie powerplay goal. The Bruins are awake. The crowd has been into it from the start.

Fraser Minten picks off a puck at center but doesn’t like a 1-on-1 with Mikhail Sergachev and forces a cross-ice pass that gets intercepted.

A passive backcheck by Elias Lindholm, who moments earlier flew by an offensive chance, opens the door for Utah winger Daniil But, who jumps across the crease and slams the loose puck off the right post.

The period ends with Nikita Zadorov wiping the floor with an annoyed Nick Schmaltz, who jabs at Zadorov’s wrist while skating away. Zadorov gently put his stick to Schmautz’s arm to let him know he’s not going anywhere.

Shots after one period: 13-7 Utah.

SECOND PERIOD

Elias Lindholm tests Vitek Vanecek off the rush – save, but next time down the ice the Bruins grab the lead (2-1) just 23 seconds into the period on Geekie’s second of the game from the slot and his 24th of the season.

Zacha is tripped in the neutral zone, so the Bruins go to the powerplay 1:06 into the second period with a big opportunity to get some distance in this game. Nate Schmidt to the box.

Alex Steeves centers, but Vanecek catches Mikey Eyssimont’s redirect from in tight.

Utah gets an important kill, and now we enter a pivotal stage of the game in which the Bruins are hoping to sustain momentum while the Mammoth will try to recover the form of their first 20 minutes.

Another piercing shift for Utah’s top line of Schmaltz, Clayton Keller and Peterka, but the Bruins survive it.

Pastrnak gets Geekie the puck in the slot again, but this time his shot is deflected out of play.

Bad penalty for Eyssimont, who was in the offensive zone trying to make a play out of the corner when he lost the puck and was found guilty of holding. On the delayed penalty, Fraser Minten blocked a shot from the right point that caused obvious pain. Keep an eye out for Minten, who would spell Sean Kuraly on the second penalty-killing unit.

Minten is back on the ice with the second PK unit.

Kastelic chases a 50/50 and creates the havoc the Bruins needs to create three shot attempts, the last of which comes from the point and is deflected out of play. Excellent sequence for Kastelic and Jeannot. Three different lines wound up taking part in the push.

Cross-ice relay for the Bruins could have been a shot, but Pastrnak continued with another hard pass that Elias Lindholm could not convert at the left post. It was the second time Lindholm had been in a prime scoring spot but found the puck to be too hot.

Minten collides with Lawson Crouse at the Boston bench.

Bruins’ top line has sustained pressure but keeps choosing pass over shot until Barrett Hayton is called for interference with 5:22 left in the second period. Bruins back on the powerplay, and their last 5v5 shift played out like a powerplay. We haven’t seen too many of those sequences this season.

The Bruins’ powerplay does everything but score, and the first unit finished out the two minutes. Utah’s PK unit was too tired to do anything with a turnover as Hayton’s penalty expired.

The Bruins are throwing the body in the second period. Victor Soderstrom stepped up and made a nice hit to disrupt a play in the neutral zone.

Andrew Peeke gives up the body to obstruct a Utah puck carrier on a would-be zone entry.

The Bruins held the Mammoth to just three second-period shots (8-3), so shots after two periods are 16-15 Utah.

THIRD PERIOD

Utah’s top line starts fast, but the Bruins hold on. Then the big winger But protects the puck at the right point, and Mason Lohrei hacks him too many times and goes to the penalty box for slashing at 1:49.

Swayman stops Keller from the right circle, corralling the puck behind his blocker. The Bruins get the kill.

Schmaltz does a great job executing Utah coach Andre Tourigny’s plan to step into the path of chasing Boston defensemen in time for the picks to be legal. Schmaltz stepped into Charlie McAvoy’s path, delaying Boston’s top defenseman from pursuit of the play that wound up on Keller’s stick.

Zadorov with a hit and a tie-up, and Minten and Eyssimont get a 2-on-1 that Minten shoots off Vanecek’s right pad. Not a bad attempt, just needed to get the shot higher.

Lohrei beats the puck to the blue line, but his shot doesn’t get through.

Lohrei is shoved hard from behind into the end boards, but the official on the scene might have thought the Boston defenseman was selling too hard and made no call.

Alex Steeves’ bank pass misses the left post and is called for icing. The Bruins cannot get out of their defensive zone without icing the puck again. Big faceoff for Minten. Utah wins it, and Swayman makes a big save on Peterka. Rough sequence for two of the Bruins’ finer defensive players.

Chance at the other end for Marat Khusnutdinov, who tips McAvoy’s point shot onto Vanecek. A scramble ensues.

Khusnutdinov makes a brilliant play to look to center before banking the puck off the boards to Casey Mittelstadt, who finds Zacha streaking down the left wing. Vanecek stops Zacha, but Mittelstadt pops the rebound into the top corner and it’s a 3-1 game with 9:44 remaining. Huge goal for Boston with Utah pressing for what would have been the equalizer. The goal is Mittelstadt’s eighth of the season.

Geekie almost gets the hat-trick goal, his right skate planted in the crease between Vanecek’s pads, but the puck did not get through.

Great goal by Eyssimont to put this one away with 3:58 remaining. Eyssimont fended off journeyman defenseman Olli Maatta and tucked the backhand 5-hole, sending some of the jubilant TD Garden crowd to the exits.

4-1 Boston with 2:35 remaining.

Drive safely.

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are here on Thursday.