Recap: Bruins soar past Penguins, 5-1, on Zacha’s two goals, Pastrnak’s 40th

Zacha had a three-point night in the win while Ullmark made 38 saves.

The Boston Bruins defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1, on Saturday, as David Pastrnak hit 40 goals and Linus Ullmark made 38 saves for his first win in over a month.

The Bruins were outshot 39 to 23 by the Penguins, but still got the W while allowing only one regulation goal against for the fourth straight game.

Pavel Zacha had a three-point night while Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk and Hampus Lindholm picked up two points each.

Pastrnak netted his 40th goal of the season to get the Bruins going while Zacha would end the night with two tallies and an assist. Marchand picked up career goal No. 399 and Jake DeBrusk added the other before the game’s end.

Letang scored the Penguins’ lone goal.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

Scoreless

Second period:

The Bruins opening the scoring at 2:26 of the second period.

DeBrusk fed a pass to Pastrnak in the high slot for a one-timer high past Alex Nedeljkovic. 1-0 Bruins.

The Bruins took a two-goal lead at 12:48 of the second period on the power play.

Morgan Geekie slid a pass to Zacha where he tipped in a shot past Nedeljkovic. 2-0 Bruins.

The Bruins extended their lead at 18:25 of the second period.

Charlie Coyle sent a pass to Marchand who out front, lifted a backhand over Nedeljkovic’s shoulder. 3-0 Bruins.

Third period:

The Penguins bounced back at 2:51 of the third period.

Off the face-off, Sidney Crosby won the puck back to Letang for a slap shot that flew top-shelf past Ullmark’s glove. 3-1 game.

The Bruins cushioned their lead again at 9:36 of the third period.

Carrying the puck down the left wing, Marchand then found DeBrusk inside the right-wing circle for a one-timer. 4-1 Bruins.

Zacha scored his second of the night at 15:33 of the third period.

After receiving the puck from Danton Heinen, Pastrnak sent a short, slick feed to Zacha in the slot where he came in close and beat Nedeljkovic. Final score: 5-1 Bruins.

Game notes:

• Ullmark had a big game and he needed it. Postgame, there was a sense of relief with the trade deadline come and gone for the goaltender who hasn’t picked up a win in his starts since Feb. 8. While the Bruins’ offense didn’t get going until the second period to find the back of the net, Ullmark had plenty activity down his end with 39 shots faced.
• “This is the team I want to be in,” Ullmark said when asked about yesterday. “I’m very happy with where I am right now.” He said he spoke with Bergeron the other day and had a really good conversation with him. Charlie McAvoy sent him a text which “really hit home,” Ullmark said.
• With all the trade speculation and who may have been on the trading block, it was nice to see DeBrusk picked up a goal and assist in the win.
• Lindholm returned from injury and ended the game with two assists. Jim Montgomery said he thought he had more jump in his game. “I thought he was simple, but really effective,” he added. Lindholm was definitely noticeable and he was creating plays and throwing pucks at net the whole game. DeBrusk’s goal was the product of Lindholm’s simple pass to Marchand to get it set up.
• Pastrnak’s 40th goal today makes him only the fourth Bruin to hit four seasons recording 40 or more goals. He said it’s not something lost on him as this is the best league in the world and he doesn’t take the achievement for granted.
• Montgomery and Marchand spoke after the game about overcoming adversities and finding consistency over the last few games. Marchand felt his team has played the right way the last four games to find success. “We played above their speed and put pucks in the right areas to make an impact,” Marchand said.
• Marchand postgame soundbite as he talked playing to the Bruins’ strengths: “We believe in what we have and believe in what the team will build structure wise. When we execute the proper way, we have a great team. When we get away from it and we think we are a high-end skilled team, we shoot ourselves in the foot. that’s not what our group is. It’s not how we won at all this year. We win by committee. We win by structure… We win by playing great defense. It’s how we’ve always done it….We wear teams down and we win tight games.”
• The homestand continues on Monday, March 11 for a 7 p.m. game against the St. Louis Blues.