Pavel Zacha set the tone and kept it rolling Thursday night, scoring twice as the Boston Bruins left PPG Paints Arena with a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boston improved to 12-4-1, while Pittsburgh fell to 5-9-2.
The Penguins got on the board first when Justin Brazeau scored at the 9:04 mark of the opening period. Hendrix Lapierre and Kaedan Korczak assisted on the goal.
That lead didn’t last long. Zacha tied it 1-1 at 12:07, finishing off a play with help from David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka. Boston then took control before the first intermission, and it did so with a quick burst.
Mark Kastelic tipped one home at 15:04 to put the Bruins ahead 2-1, with Frederic Brunet and Tanner Jeannot picking up the assists. Then Elias Lindholm added another at 18:57 to stretch the advantage to 3-1 after 20 minutes.
Pittsburgh made it interesting again early in the second period. Nick Robertson scored on a tip-in at 7:57, trimming the Bruins’ lead to 3-2, with Korczak and Blake Lizotte on the assist list.
Boston answered with the kind of response that shuts a door. Zacha struck again at 14:24 for his second goal of the night, restoring the two-goal cushion at 4-2. Pastrnak and Peterka were in on that one too.
Morgan Geekie then added another at 16:57, with Hampus Lindholm setting it up, and the Bruins carried a 5-2 lead into the second intermission.
Fraser Minten finished the scoring for Boston at 8:39 of the third period, with Geekie assisting on the final goal of the night.
The Bruins head back to TD Garden next, where they’ll host the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. ET on NESN.
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