With trade rumors behind them, Linus Ullmark made 38 saves and Jake DeBrusk was one of five Boston Bruins with multiple points in a 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
BOSTON – Pavel Zacha had two goals and one assist to extend his point streak to four games, and Hampus Lindholm had two assists in his return from a nine-game injury absence as the Boston Bruins took down the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 at TD Garden on Saturday.
David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 38 saves for Boston, which improved to 38-13-15 with its fourth win in the past six games.
“I think since the Islander game in particular (a 5-1 loss to New York on March 2), where we laid an egg, I think we’ve come back with four really good games in a row,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said.
After a scoreless first period, Pastrnak scored his 40th goal of the season with a one-timer from the high slot at 2:26 of the second period, joining Phil Esposito (7), Rick Middleton (5) and Cam Neely (4) as the only players in Bruins history with at least four 40-goal seasons.
“I won’t take it for granted, obviously,” Pastrnak said about the milestone. “It’s my job to score goals, but at the same time, you’re playing in the best league in the world, so I don’t take it for granted.”
The Bruins poured it on from there, with Zacha deflecting Morgan Geekie's pass up and in on the power play to make it 2-0 at 12:48, and Marchand pushed it to 3-0 with a backhand at 18:25.
Kris Letang cut it to 3-1 at 2:51 of the third period, beating Ullmark from the left point, but DeBrusk extended it to 4-1 at 9:36.
Zacha capped things off with his second goal and third point of the night at 15:33, forcing the puck past Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to make it 5-1.
“We feel good about our group,” Marchand said. “I mean, we have all year. We added two tough pieces, two great guys in the room [Pat Maroon and Andrew Peeke before Friday’s trade deadline]. … Love our group, feel very confident in it and come playoff time, anything can happen and we have a group we believe in and that’s what’s important.”
The Bruins take on the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden on Monday.
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