Bruins Wrap: David Pastrnak’s Hat Trick Lifts Boston Over Avalanche

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2, at TD Garden on Thursday night to extend their win streak to three games.

With the win, the Bruins now own a 27-8-9 overall record while the Avalanche fell to 29-14-3 on the season.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins got three first-period goals from David Pastrnak, Jakub Lauko and Jake DeBrusk to secure the win over the Avalanche.

Boston jumped out to the early 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game before Colorado cut the lead in half just as its first power-play attempt expired. Keeping the Avalanche from scoring a goal on the man-advantage snapped Colorado’s nine-game streak dating back to Dec. 13.

Nathan MacKinnon potted his 24th goal of the season in the second period to again bring the Avalanche within a goal. But a late power play and empty-net goals in the third period from Pastrnak secured the Boston win and the forward’s first hat trick this season.

Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves in the game for his 14th win of the season.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Lauko scored his first goal of the season at 4:58 of the first period. The 23-year-old forward collected the pass from Morgan Geekie and potted the puck into the open net as Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev came across the crease in an attempt to stop Geekie.

— Pastrnak’s hat trick was the 18th of his career. He recorded his 27th goal of the season in the first period. The Bruins All-Star forward opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the first frame giving Boston the 1-0 lead. Pastnark added the insurance goals in the third period.

— Swayman improved to 14-3-7 on the season with the win.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds that Lauko would light the lamp at +800. The Bruins forward cleared those odds by notching his first goal of the season in the first period. A $100 wager on Lauko would have netted a $900 total payout.

UP NEXT
The Bruins’ five-game homestand continues when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to Boston on Saturday night. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.