The power play strikes twice in win and Poitras and Pastrnak make magic.
David Pastrnak’s hat trick propelled the Boston Bruins to a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at the TD Garden.
“We played with a lot of passion and desperation,” Interim head coach Joe Sacco said.
“I’m proud of the way the guys played today,” he added. “They competed hard from start to finish.”
The Bruins’ power play added two notches today, including the opening goal from Charlie McAvoy.
J.T. Miller, in his first game back with the New York Rangers after being traded last night, quickly evened the game 35 seconds later.
But over the course of the next 30 minutes, the Bruins’ played shutdown defense and capitalized on their opportunities.
Matt Poitras showed his strength to win a puck battle at the end boards and dish a pass out front to Pastrnak for his first of the game to close out the first period.
Then the Bruins held the Rangers to only two shots in the second period, allowing Charlie Coyle to cash in on a tip and Pavel Zacha to help the power play make headway with another man-advantage tally.
The Bruins entered the third period up 4-1, but Miller would net his second of the night with a redirect.
Poitras connected again with Pastrnak to cushion the Bruins’ lead.
As the Rangers pressed in the third period, Jonny Brodzinski got one past Jeremy Swayman to close the scoring gap to two goals with half a period to go.
Pastrnak completed his hat trick with an empty-netter and handed the Bruins the win.
Here are the highlights!
First period:
Seconds after the 5-on-3 ended, Pavel Zacha found Charlie McAvoy pinching down to the left-wing circle where he blasted a one-timer past Igor Shesterkin at 10:20 of the first period on the power play. 1-0 Bruins.
Panarin hit J.T. Miller with a pass just inside the left-wing circle where he let a one-timer fly past Jeremy Swayman’s glove at 10:55 of the first period. 1-1 game.
With pressure on him at the end boards, Matt Poitras send a backhanded pass out front which finds Pastrnak in the slot at 17:09 of the first period. 2-1 Bruins.
Second period:
Charlie Coyle redirected Andrew Peeke’s long shot past Shesterkin’s glove at 3:39 of the second period. 3-1 Bruins.
Elias Lindholm looked to send a centering pass out front, but fanned a bit. Zacha found the loose puck and threw a quick snap shot in the slot past Shesterkin’s blocker on the power play at 17:10 of the second period. 4-1 Bruins.
Third period:
Miller tipped in Mika Zibanejad’s shot from the top of the right-wing circle just 35 seconds into the third period on the power play for his second goal of the game. 4-2 game.
Poitras connected with Pastrnak in the high slot for a one-timer past Shesterkin’s stick at 1:21 of the third period. 5-2 Bruins.
Jonny Brodzinski got just enough of his stick on Ryan Lindgren’s shot to redirect the puck past Swayman’s glove at 10:47 of the third period. 5-3 game.
Pastrnak completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 16:38 of the third period. Final score: 6-3 Bruins.
Game notes
- The Bruins responded and executed their game plan after a few lousy losses. Sacco said it was a big win for his team. He talked about defending and playing a tight game while also taking advantage of their opportunities. And Swayman also made some timely saves when he needed to today with a couple incredible glove and pad saves.
- Get timely goaltending, timely scoring, and I just like their energy though today.
- Poitras arguably had one of his best games today and just really complemented his new linemates. Sacco said he played an important role in the Bruins’ transition back to 5v5 after some penalty kills which led to two goals.
- Poitras was asked postgame about his mindset being thrown on the ice after a PK: “Obviously you know some of their top guys are on the ice in the power play,” he said. “Just you know get out there and kind of get behind them and try and make something happen and play low. Getting a good kill, you have that momentum so you just try to ride that wave.”
- Pastrnak postgame on Poitras’ game and growth over the last year and a half: “He got so much stronger compared to a year and a half ago…He took advantage of the injury, Unfortunate injury he had, you know, and he is much stronger, got the confidence…When he’s playing a game like that he’s fun to watch…He’s a big part of our offensive group.”
- Pastrnak led the NHL in scoring last month and he didn’t show any signs of slowing down today. His hot streak continued to 10 games with his four-point night.
- Sacco said the coaching staff really tried to stress playing off the shot and sending bodies to the net to retrieve the puck. He said it showed in Coyle’s goal and the play Andrew Peeke made.
- Sacco did not have an update on Callahan who left during the game after getting a puck to the mouth. Sacco said he was getting some mouth work done. He said he liked his response playing with five defenders and felt McAvoy took the lead. Nikita Zadorov played a whopping 26:01 minutes. McAvoy’s TOI wasn’t far behind at 25:12.
- The Bruins will cap off their three-game homestand on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the Minnesota Wild.