Pavel Zacha scored twice and the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena, improving to 12-4-1 on the season. Boston scored three goals in the first period and never trailed.
The Bruins broke the game open with three straight goals in a four-minute span of the second period, turning a one-goal lead into a 5-2 cushion. Pittsburgh got a goal from Nick Robertson and two points from defenseman Kaedan Korczak, but the Penguins fell to 5-9-2 and have lost nine games this season.
Key Moments: How Boston Pulled Away
Pittsburgh struck first when Justin Brazeau scored on a snap shot at 9:04 of the first period, assisted by Hendrix Lapierre and Korczak. Boston answered quickly. Zacha tied it at 12:07 with a wrist shot off feeds from David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka, and Mark Kastelic tipped in a goal three minutes later. Elias Lindholm capped the first-period surge with an unassisted wrist shot at 18:57, sending Boston into the first intermission up 3-1.
Robertson pulled Pittsburgh within one with a tip-in at 7:57 of the second period, but the Penguins got no closer. Zacha struck again at 14:24, converting another Peterka and Pastrnak assist for his second goal of the night. Morgan Geekie made it 5-2 just over two minutes later on a wrist shot set up by Hampus Lindholm. Fraser Minten closed the scoring in the third period, finishing a feed from Geekie at 8:39 for the 6-2 final.
Top Performers
Zacha finished with two goals for a team-high two points, and Peterka added two assists. Geekie contributed a goal and an assist, while Kastelic and Elias Lindholm each scored once. Boston goaltender Michael DiPietro made 16 saves on 18 shots for a .889 save percentage in the win.
For Pittsburgh, Korczak had a goal and an assist for a game-high two points, and Robertson scored the Penguins’ second goal. Goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 18 of 24 shots, a .750 save percentage, in the loss.
What It Means
Boston controlled much of the game, winning 31 of 50 faceoffs for a 62% win rate and outshooting Pittsburgh 24-18. The Bruins sit atop the Atlantic Division with 25 points, one point ahead of Montreal. Neither team scored on the power play, as Boston went 0-for-1 and Pittsburgh 0-for-1 with the man advantage. Boston now leads the season series 1-0 after the win.
Pittsburgh remains last in the Metropolitan Division with 12 points, tied with Philadelphia for the fewest in that group. The loss was the Penguins’ ninth of the season against five wins and two overtime losses.
What’s Next
Boston continues its winning stretch in division play. Pittsburgh will look to snap its nine-game losing streak in its next outing.
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