Severely depleted Bruins still manage to beat Coyotes

To say the Boston Bruins entered Saturday's contest against the Arizona Coyotes shorthanded would be a gigantic understatement, and yet, they found a way to earn two points.

Shortly before puck drop, the club announced Patrice Bergeron was going home to be evaluated for an upper-body injury. And hours earlier, captain Zdeno Chara was ruled out for at least four weeks as he deals with a knee injury.

The Bruins were also missing four additional starting blue-liners. As a result, they strolled into the desert with a lineup that looked more like an exhibition roster than the 112-point team from a season ago.

Boston surged ahead on first-period goals from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Jake DeBrusk, and backup Jaroslav Halak turned in a 32-save performance to secure the 2-1 victory.