David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha, both from the Czech Republic, each scored a goal and combined for seven points to help the Boston Bruins easily defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night.
Pastrnak (one goal, three assists) reached 400 career assists, becoming the 11th player in Bruins history to do so. He helped set up Boston’s first three goals before scoring just 26 seconds into the third period.
Zacha (one goal, two assists) and Morgan Geekie (one goal, one assist) also had multiple points, while Brad Marchand and Marc McLaughlin added goals. The Bruins have won five of their last seven games, even after starting 0-2-0 on this five-game road trip.
The Bruins built 2-0 and 4-0 leads at the intermissions, with goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopping 19 shots. For Vancouver, which has only won one of its last four games (1-2-1), Max Sasson scored his first NHL goal, and Thatcher Demko made 23 saves in his second start since returning from a knee injury.
Boston came out strong in the first period, getting the game’s first power play and finishing with a 16-4 advantage in shots, including 11-1 to start. Marchand scored first at 5:12, finishing a great power-play setup with a pass from Elias Lindholm. Geekie made it 2-0 when Pastrnak set him up at 8:08.
In the second period, Boston took a 3-0 lead just 1:12 in. Pastrnak won a faceoff and fed Zacha, who made a backhand-to-forehand move to score. Vancouver began to push back midway through the period, with Swayman making a great save on a Conor Garland one-timer.
Boston added to its lead at 11:49 when McLaughlin scored his first goal of the season, shooting a rebound through Demko’s five-hole. Swayman kept a shutout intact through two periods, making a big save on Kiefer Sherwood late in the second.
In the third period, it took just 26 seconds for the Bruins to score again, with Charlie McAvoy setting up Pastrnak for a wraparound goal. It would have been 6-0 if not for Demko stopping Cole Koepke’s breakaway.
Vancouver finally got on the board with 9:47 left in the game when Sasson scored, assisted by J.T. Miller, to break Swayman’s shutout.
