Bruins Beat Penguins 6-2 as Pavel Zacha Scores Twice in Boston

Pavel Zacha scored twice as the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 at TD Garden on Thursday night. Boston scored three goals in a span of 6 minutes and 50 seconds in the first period and never let Pittsburgh back into the game. The win was the third in a row for the Bruins, who have won five of their last seven.

Pittsburgh scored first. Justin Brazeau put the Penguins ahead 1-0 at 9:04 of the first period, scoring on Pittsburgh's first shot on goal with a snap shot from the right face-off circle, set up by Hendrix Lapierre.

Three goals in under seven minutes

Boston answered fast. Zacha tied the game 1-1 at 12:07, scoring on a wrist shot over Arturs Silovs off a pass from David Pastrnak through the crease. Mark Kastelic gave Boston a 2-1 lead at 15:04 with a deflection in the slot on a point shot from Frederic Brunet. Elias Lindholm made it 3-1 at 18:57, and the Bruins took control into the intermission.

Nick Robertson cut the lead to 3-2 at 7:57 of the second period for Pittsburgh, redirecting a shot from Kaedan Korczak for his team-leading seventh goal. Zacha scored again at 14:24, taking a pass from JJ Peterka on a 2-on-1 for a wrist shot and a 4-2 lead. Morgan Geekie pushed it to 5-2 at 16:57, scoring on a breakaway off a pass from Hampus Lindholm during a Pittsburgh line change.

Fraser Minten scored at 8:39 of the third period, on a snap shot from a 2-on-1 set up by Geekie, for the 6-2 final.

Zacha finished with two goals. Geekie had a goal and an assist, and Pastrnak and Peterka each had two assists for Boston. Bruins forward James Hagens left the game early in the third period after taking a crosscheck to the back from Penguins defenseman Samuel Girard, according to NHL.com.

The loss was the fourth in a row for the Penguins, who are 0-3-1 in that run. Brazeau and Robertson scored for Pittsburgh, and Korczak had two assists.

The second period decided the game. Robertson's goal gave Pittsburgh a way back at 3-2, but Boston scored twice in 2 minutes and 33 seconds, through Zacha and Geekie, and the contest was effectively over before the third period began. Pittsburgh goaltender Arturs Silovs faced all six Boston goals, while the Bruins spread their scoring across four lines, with goals from Zacha, Kastelic, Lindholm, Geekie and Minten.