3 least impressive Boston Bruins players from 5-1 loss to New Jersey Devils feat. Jeremy Swayman 

The Boston Bruins entered Wednesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils having won three of their last four games, helping to erase some of the bad feelings that stemmed from having previously lost six consecutive games.

Meanwhile, the Devils were looking for their first win in their last four outings.

Ultimately, Wednesday's game was no contest. The Devils earned a decisive 5-1 victory at Prudential Center in downtown Newark thanks to a goal and two assists from team captain Nico Hischier.

The loss dropped the Bruins to 23-20-6, while the Devils improved to 27-17-6.

The game started well enough for the Bruins, who scored the first goal of the game thanks to Morgan Geekie's 12th tally of the season just 5:50 after the opening face-off.

However, the Devils would score five unanswered goals the rest of the way, including four in the game's middle frame. The scoring barrage began with the first of two second period goals from Dawson Mercer; Dougie Hamilton and Stefan Noesen also scored power-play goals for the Devils, who took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission.

In the third period, the scoring was capped by Hischier, who scored his 23rd goal of the season.

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 25 shots before being replaced by Joonas Korpisalo, while the Devils got 22 combined saves from Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. Markstrom began the game but had to exit after Justin Brazeau collided with him in the crease.

3 least impressive Boston Bruins players from 5-1 loss to New Jersey Devils

#1. Jeremy Swayman

Once again, the Bruins did not get the kind of goaltending that they needed from Jeremy Swayman and it cost them on Wednesday night; he was pulled after allowing four goals on the 25 shots he faced.

Swayman was engaged in a long and bitter standoff with Bruins management before the season and held out of Training Camp and the pre-season schedule while he awaited a new contract; he wanted to be paid as a top-five goalie in the NHL.

Eventually, the Bruins made him just that; his salary is the fifth highest among his goaltending peers. His 3.00 goals-against average and .896 save percentage are indicative of anything but a goalie who deserves to be paid as much as Swayman is being compensated.

#2. Brandon Carlo

The Bruins defenseman had himself a particularly brutal sequence in the second period, not only falling down with the puck in his own end but having his attempted clear intercepted by the Devils immediately after, directly leading to Dawson Mercer's game-tying goal.

#3. Mason Lohrei

Lohrei overskated the puck behind his own net in the second period, directly leading to Mercer's second goal of the night.

As if that weren't enough, he also committed four separate giveaways.

The Bruins will look to bounce back when they host the Ottawa Senators next at TD Garden on Thursday.