The Boston Bruins had to dig themselves out of an ugly first period Friday night, and once they did, the game flipped fast.
Down 2-0 after Anaheim struck twice in the final minute of the opening frame, Boston stormed back for a 4-2 win at Honda Center. Frederic Brunet got the comeback started with the first NHL goal of his career, David Pastrnak tied it with a power-play finish, Elias Lindholm put the Bruins in front for good, and Matthew Poitras added the clincher with 3:40 left. Michael DiPietro backed it up with 25 saves for his first NHL win.
Anaheim looked in control late in the first period. Tim Washe opened the scoring on a long shot through traffic, then Beckett Sennecke doubled the lead just 20 seconds later after finishing a passing play with Cutter Gauthier and Nikita Nesterenko.
Boston needed a response, and Brunet delivered one at 3:15 of the second period. The defenseman uncorked a shot from the blue line that threaded through traffic and beat Lukas Dostal, with James Hagens and Pavel Zacha on the assists. It was the kind of goal that can change the mood on the bench in a hurry, and it gave the Bruins the foothold they needed.
From there, Boston’s special teams took over in the third.
Pastrnak pulled the Bruins even with a power-play goal early in the period, finishing a give-and-go with Lindholm. The goal was the 423rd of Pastrnak’s career, moving him past Brad Marchand for fourth place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list. Only Johnny Bucyk, Phil Esposito and Patrice Bergeron have scored more for Boston.
Lindholm then finished the job. Less than five minutes after Pastrnak’s tying goal, he was open near the net on another power play and tapped in a pass from Zacha with 11:39 remaining. Lindholm had already helped on the equalizer, and this time he supplied the go-ahead goal himself.
The Bruins weren’t done. Poitras added an insurance marker late, and Hagens picked up his second assist of the night on the play.
Boston’s turnaround also meant a clean finish after a rocky start. After giving up those two late first-period goals, the Bruins tightened up and didn’t let Anaheim get back into the game. DiPietro did his part too, turning aside 25 shots as Boston extended its winning streak to four games.
The victory pushed the Bruins to 6-2-0, with consecutive wins over San Jose and Anaheim. It also kept Anaheim in a tough spot at home, where the Ducks have now lost three straight while allowing 13 goals in that stretch.
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