BOSTON — Have yourself an afternoon, David Pastrnak.
The Boston Bruins earned a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, and all four goals came from Pastrnak. Bruce Cassidy’s club really didn’t have its best game, but that rarely matters when somebody pops off for four goals.
Bruins netminder Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 of 32 shots, while Ducks goalie John Gibson allowed four of 23 shots to enter the net.
The Bruins moved to 5-1-0 with the win while the Ducks dropped to 4-2-0 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
HOT START
The Bruins deserve much credit for beginning games strong and in rhythm — a trend that continued Monday.
Boston was crisp, physical and aggressive in the offensive zone, all of which was reflected in the 11-8 advantage in shots on goal. Pastrnak got the scoring started just 4:18 into the first period, punctuating a beautiful power-play sequence between himself, Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug.
It was the third goal of the season for Pastrnak, who was just getting started.
Boston and Anaheim each committed one penalty in the frame.
SLOPPY SECOND… AGAIN
Perhaps the Bruins should petition the NHL to allow them to skate toward the same end all three periods.
Boston was ugly in the second period all last season, and the problem unfortunately hasn’t gone anywhere. The Bruins were sloppy in the second frame again Monday afternoon, committing three penalties and allowing the Ducks to earn a 16-6 advantage in shots.
Despite all that, Pastrnak buried his second goal of the game at 11:38 to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. Brad Marchand picked up the assist.
The second period also saw Rickard Rakell pull the Ducks within one goal.
The Bruins don’t have many glaring weaknesses, but their consistently poor effort in second periods certainly is one.
MMM… PASTA
Yeah, this was all about Pastrnak.
The Bruins winger scored at 2:20 and 4:34 to complete the first four-goal game of his career. Sometimes you just have one of those days.
Take a look:
Marchand and Krug both finished with two assists on the afternoon.
Pastrnak, who put five shots on net in the game, now has six goals and four assists through six games. Remarkably, he still is just 23 years old.
The Ducks narrowed the deficit to 4-2 when Adam Henrique scored with just under four minutes remaining. The Ducks out-shot the Bruins 8-6 in the frame.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will wrap up their homestand Thursday night when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop at TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
