Bruins Wrap: Boston Escapes Gritty Battle In Win Over Coyotes

The Boston Bruins defeated the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3, at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, the Bruins improved to 18-5-3 while the Coyotes dropped to 13-11-2.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston came out as the instant aggressor, tallying two goals within 48 seconds in the first period, but still had plenty of work to do down the line.

David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle went back-to-back, covering up for a silent offensive start in which Arizona outshot the Bruins, 9-1, in the first 6:46 minutes. A quick and easy 2-0 lead, on most nights, should be enough to lead Boston to the comfort zone, but that wasn’t the case.

The Coyotes continued fighting and applying pressure of their own to climb back into the contest, scoring three times in the final two periods to cut Boston’s lead to a one-score game. In the third period, the Bruins recorded just one shot on goal to Arizona’s first nine.

That’s when Pastrnak whipped out some late-game heroics, giving goalie Linus Ullmark a sigh of relief through some much-needed insurance. Pastrnak netted his second goal of the night, extending Boston’s lead just far enough to keep the Coyotes away.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Pastrnak scored in the first and final periods of the game, raising his team-leading goal total to 16. It also marked Pastrnak’s third multi-goal performance this season, the first since Oct. 28 versus the Detroit Red Wings.

— Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk netted Boston’s third consecutive goal, taking advantage of a power-play opportunity in the second period.

— Arizona’s Lawson Crouse got the Coyotes within one goal of knotting the game up, scoring in the third period.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Pastrnak being the game-opening scorer at +700 before Boston and Arizona met for puck drop. A $100 wager on the 27-year-old would’ve resulted in a handsome $800 total payout.

UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins head off to New Jersey next to take on the Devils on Wednesday night. Puck drop from Prudential Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be aired on TNT.

Wrapping that two-game road trip in New York against the Islanders, Boston will return to the NESN airwaves on Friday night. Puck drop from UBS Arena is set for 7:30 p.m., following an hour of pregame coverage.