Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes one of his 25 saves during Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden in Boston. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
BOSTON — Nick Foligno broke a tie midway through the third period, Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Thursday night.
The Bruins improved to 26-4-2 and 18-0-2 at home.
Foligno scored from the left circle off a feed from Charlie Coyle. David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins.
Mark Scheifele and Jansen Harkins scored for Winnipeg and Connor Hellebuyck made 37 saves. The Jets led 2-0 at 7:20 of the first period, with Scheifele opening the scoring at 1:58 with his team-leading 20th goal.
Pastrnak scored his team-leading 22nd midway through the second, and DeBrusk tied it 2:52 later.
NOTES: Boston honored Don McKenney, who died Sunday at the age of 88. McKenney packed a lot in his nine seasons with the Bruins. He served as captain in his final two seasons and either led or tied Boston in scoring four times. … Rick Bowness is in his first season on the Winnipeg bench. He broke in as an NHL head coach with Boston back in 1991 and spent just one season with the club.
THE BRUINS ANNOUNCED Thursday that the independent review into the club’s ill-fated signing of prospect Mitchell Miller found there was no misconduct from any team employee, but determined the existing vetting policy was lacking and suggested new steps the club said it will implement.
The review was conducted by the law firm of Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison and led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
According to a press release, the steps that will be established include:
• Clear written policies for vetting off-ice conduct.
• Centralized documentation of vetting to include reporting on red flags and off-ice issues.
• A tracking system to ensure responsibilities for all vetting tasks are clearly assigned and tracked.
On Nov. 4, the Bruins announced they had signed Miller, a free agent defenseman drafted by the Coyotes in the fourth round in 2020. But the Coyotes rescinded their pick amid public pressure when it came to light that Miller had been convicted in juvenile court in Ohio of bullying a developmentally delayed classmate. According to victim’s mother, Joni Meyer-Crothers, the bullying was not just one incident but rather had been going on for years.
The negative reaction to the Bruins signing Miller was swift and vociferous. Even some of the team’s top players let it be known they were uncomfortable with the signing. Two days after signing Miller, team president Cam Neely announced the team had decided to part ways with Miller.
But Miller, who signed to a three-year deal, is still technically in the Bruins employ. If the sides can’t come to a settlement, the club could buy him out in the next buyout period next summer.
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