The Boston Bruins extended their winning streak to seven with a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden.
Pavel Zacha, Hampus Lindholm, Alex Steeves and David Pastrnak all scored for Boston and Jeremy Swayman had a 30-save night.
The Bruins never trailed in the all-around win that cements the Black and Gold as one of the premier squads in the NHL. Only the Anaheim Ducks have matched the roll Boston has been on as of late. Both clubs have gone 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.
Pastrnak scored the game-winning goal just 49 seconds into the second period when the prolific goal scorer went forehand-backhand-forehand on Dennis Hildeby. The tally was the 400th of his career, and after Morgan Geekie collected the puck, the rest of Pastrnak’s teammates spilled over the boards to celebrate with him.
“That was very special. I did not expect it. I didn’t even know it’s allowed, honestly, for 400 goals so I was worried that we’re going to get a penalty,” Pastrnak said. “I think that’s exactly where it hit me, when the guys came out.”
The goal gave the Bruins a 4-1 lead over their Original Six rivals, but the Maple Leafs would pull within two when Bobby McMann scored a power-play goal with 1:02 remaining in the middle frame. Oliver Ekman-Larson then got Toronto within a goal early in the third but Pastrnak would net his second of the game on Boston’s sixth power-play opportunity to secure the Bruins’ seventh straight win, sixth at home.
“It was huge. Huge,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told reporters, following the win. “Playing a Toronto team, the Maple Leafs rivalry, Hockey Night in Canada, in Toronto, Hall of Fame weekend, not having our full lineup. then coming back here and it was ‘can we do it again?’ There’s a lot of things going on in those two games. I’m pretty proud of my guys, just the way they handled things, how they played, structure and details, sticking with it. Yeah, so winning back-to-back games against Toronto, that’s…that’s pretty cool.”
Here are more notes from Boston’s win over Toronto:
— Pastrnak became the sixth Bruin to reach 400 goals. The others include Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Patrice Bergeron (427), Brad Marchand (422) and Rick Middleton (402).
— The Bruins scored three power-play goals against the Leafs with tallies on the man advantage from Zacha, Lindholm and Pastrnak.
— Steeves scored his first goal as a Bruin in the win against his former team.
The New Hampshire native signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Toronto in 2021 after going undrafted. He dressed in 14 games for the Maple Leafs over four seasons, recording one goal and two assists in those contests. He signed a one-year contract with the Bruins in July. Steeves has eight points in nine games for Providence this season.
— The Bruins begin a short two-game road trip Thursday in Ottawa for a clash with the Senators. Puck drop from Canadian Tire Centre is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
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