BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins had a goal pulled off the board and allowed a tying one seconds after a weird stoppage.
Very few things seem to bother them lately, though, since interim coach Bruce Cassidy took over.
Ryan Spooner scored midway through the third period to lift the Bruins over the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday night for their eighth victory in 10 games under Cassidy.
With Boston clinging to a 2-1 lead early in the third, the horn went off inadvertently twice, stopping play both times. Kyle Palmieri’s goal tied it seconds after the first stoppage when he converted a 2-on-1 with Taylor Hall.
“We didn’t know what to really do. I had the puck with one of those plays and the horn went off,” said Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo, who scored a goal. “Things like that are going to happen, you can’t let it bother you at all. It is frustrating. You can’t get too rattled by it.”
Torey Krug also scored for the Bruins, and backup goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 15 shots. Cassidy took over for fired coach Claude Julien on Feb. 7.
“The horn — it was an interesting night,” Cassidy said. “… The goal that was disallowed, they happen. We’re on a bit of a bad-luck streak on those now. You hope they even out. At the end of the day, play on.”
Devante Smith-Pelly had the other goal for the Devils, who dropped their sixth straight (0-4-2) as their playoff hopes continue to fade. Cory Schneider made 37 saves.
“Cory kept it a one-goal game,” New Jersey defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. “He was awesome tonight. He was the best player on the ice. The other 18 guys that were playing weren’t good enough.”
Spooner one-timed newcomer Drew Stafford’s pass from the right circle for the winner 8:18 into the period.
Stafford, acquired from Winnipeg for a conditional sixth-round pick on Wednesday, nearly had a goal in his Bruins debut midway into the second when he poked a loose puck under Schneider, but it was overturned after a review due to goaltender interference.
Carlo’s goal broke a 1-1 tie late second period. The 20-year-old rookie defenseman fired a shot that deflected off the stick of New Jersey wing Nick Lappin, popped into the air and past the stick of Schneider.
“It’s pretty tough to swallow, you just move on, forget about it and get after it with your next shift,” Lappin said of the play.
Krug had given Boston a 1-0 lead 7:06 into the second when he one-timed a shot inside the left post from the slot for a power-play goal.
The Devils didn’t get their first shot on goal in the second until nearly nine minutes into the period.
Just under two minutes later, after Stafford’s goal was overturned, Smith-Pelly skated in on a clean breakaway and shifted before putting a backhander past Khudobin to tie it.
The game started with two whistles in the initial 14 seconds before the teams went end-to-end for about the next six minutes. Boston had the best scoring chance when rookie Peter Cehlarik fired a wrist shot off the left post.
The Bruins outshot New Jersey 16-5 in the opening period.
NOTES: Stafford was named the game’s First Star. … New Jersey captain Andy Greene was out for personal reasons. Lappin was called up from Albany of the AHL on Saturday. … Defenseman Dalton Prout, acquired from Columbus for defenseman Kyle Quincey on Wednesday, played his first game with the Devils. … It was the teams’ final regular season meeting. … Vegas GM George McPhee was in the press box.
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