Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins (23-20-6), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games. Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 29 shots in two periods. He was replaced by Joonas Korpisalo (five saves on six shots) at the start of the third period.

First, Brandon Carlo fell down with the puck in his own zone and, after getting up, his flip-out was kept in by Jersey. The B’s regained control but Oesterle’s breakout pass went off Charlie Coyle’s skates and the Devils made it count. Eventually, Dawson Mercer evened the game on a turnaround shot from the slot.

A brutal second period negated a good start for the Bruins, who never recoved. Things came apart in a hurry in the middle frame. The Bruins didn’t react well to two calls against them that they didn’t like and the Devils took advantage delivering an early knockout blow.