Derek Forbort and the Boston Bruins showed little rust after a five-day layoff in a big road win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Now the Bruins will seek a fourth straight victory as the Calgary Flames come to town for a Sunday night showdown.
Forbort had a pair of goals while David Pastrnak and Craig Smith each added a goal and an assist in the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the Flyers. It was the Bruins’ first game since a 5-2 home win against the rival Montreal Canadiens last Sunday.
Forbort scored twice in the second period against the Flyers, including a tiebreaking goal to put Boston ahead 3-2 late in the period. The seventh-year defenseman also scored 30 seconds into the period to give his team a 2-0 advantage.
“I think he’s a smart hockey player in general,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told NESN about Forbort. “Every time he’s scored, he’s kind of found the right spots; a couple of (them) had eyes, but they’ve been on net. … So good for us; we need it.”
Smith effectively put the game out of reach with his goal 1:28 into the third before Pastrnak tacked on his fifth of the season at the 12:47 mark. It was Smith’s first game since Nov. 11 after he missed time with an undisclosed injury.
Linus Ullmark settled in after surrendering a pair of goals in the first 9:25 of the second and finished with 29 saves.
Jeremy Swayman will get the start in net for Boston on the second night of a back-to-back. The rookie has yet to lose at home over parts of two seasons, going 8-0-0 with a .945 save percentage and a 1.24 goals-against average.
Calgary spoiled the UBS Arena debut for the New York Islanders with a 5-2 win on Saturday. Andrew Mangiapane scored twice, including the eventual winner on a power-play goal at 6:43 of the second period.
“They’re finding me the puck right now, and I’m just happening to put ’em home,” said Mangiapane, who is tied for second in the NHL with 14 goals. “I think we played a solid game (Saturday), and we’re going to need more of that (against the Bruins).”
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom left the door open for New York after giving up a goal 1:49 into the third. But the Flames buckled down and kept the hosts off the score sheet before Trevor Lewis and Johnny Gaudreau potted late empty-netters.
It was the third win in four games for Calgary after the Flames had dropped five of their previous six.
Markstrom made 34 saves and could have the day off to close the back-to-back in favor of backup Dan Vladar.
Vladar is 3-0-1 with a .933 save percentage and a 1.96 goals-against average this season. The 24-year-old was selected by Boston in the third round of the 2015 draft and made his NHL debut with the Bruins last season, starting in five games.
Boston shipped Vladar to Calgary for a 2022 third-round pick over the offseason.
It will mark the first meeting between Calgary and Boston since Feb. 25, 2020, after the teams did not square off in last year’s pandemic-altered season.
–Field Level Media
