Boston Bruins
Bruins Postgame: Matinee Pasta; Bruins Beat Coyotes 5-3
David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist, and the Boston Bruins held off the Arizona Coyotes for a 5-3 win at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Charlie Coyle, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Danton Heinen (GWG) also scored for the Bruins, and Trent Frederic chipped in with two helpers. Between the pipes, goalie Linus Ullmark held the fort down with a 31-save outing and was especially clutch on the penalty kill, which finished the game at 5-for-5.
For the Coyotes, Clayton Keller, Michael Carcone, and Lawson Crouse lit the lamp, but goalie Connor Ingram was shaky, allowing five goals on 29 shots.
Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Postgame:
CLUTCH: It didn’t take long for Boston Bruins superstar winger David Pastrnak to snap his pointless streak. After not appearing on the scoresheet for two games, Pastrnak was back in beast mode on Saturday afternoon, and not just scoring-wise but on the forecheck as well as both of his goals were the direct result of fore-checking.
Pastrnak put the Bruins up 1-0 with his 15th goal of the season 15:22 into the first period. The goal was a result of Pastrnak’s hustle and perseverance as he came down hard on Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki, poke-checked the puck loose, scooped it up, and then beat goalie Connor Ingram on a wrap-around.
A great effort and finish from David Pastrnak: pic.twitter.com/O5KL5mucX6
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) December 9, 2023
Then, for a second straight Saturday, Pastrnak fed the sauce to Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for a powerplay goal. This one gave the Bruins a short-lived 3-0 lead 2:02 into the second period.
Shatty gets the finishing touch. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/pogystJiVl
— NESN (@NESN) December 9, 2023
Pastrnak wasn’t done, though. With the Bruins clinging to a 4-3 lead late, Pastrnak found his way to the front of the net unscathed and tipped in a rebound of a Morgan Geekie shot to put the Bruins up 5-3 14:29 into the final frame.
David Pastrnak has another multi-goal game.
— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) December 9, 2023
BANGER: Bruins winger Trent Frederic (who also had two assists) and rookie John Beecher each had four hits.
DOGHOUSE:Â The Bruins again had a flat start as they looked like they forgot their morning Joe for the 1 p.m. ET start. They were out-shot 9-1 for a seven-minute segment of the opening frame before Pastrnak’s first goal finally got them going. The Bruins need to be mentally sharp on a more consistent basis and stop allowing teams to stick around.
UNSUNG HERO: There are three unsung heroes here for this game. On the backend, the Bruins were playing without their best defenseman Charlie McAvoy, and needed that next-up mentality. Brandon Carlo (24:53 TOI, two hits, one blocked shot) and Hampus Lindholm (25:18 TOI, one shot, two blocked shots) helped fill the void left by McAvoy’s absence.
Up front, the Bruins needed centers Charlie Coyle, Matt Poitras, and John Beecher to do the same thing after Pavel Zacha left the game after the first period with an upper-body injury.
Coyle put the Bruins up 2-0 48 seconds after Pastrnak’s first goal and then was there for head coach Jim Montgomery to lean on even more as the game went on without Zacha. Coyle played 20:17 and, in addition to his goal, had three hits and three blocked shots.
Charlie Coyle doubles the Bruins lead with his 10th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/g78JF3TNNT
— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) December 9, 2023
Boston Bruins Lineup
Forwards
Brad Marchand-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk-Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic
Jake DeBrusk-Matt Poitras-Danton Heinen
Oskar Steen-John Beecher-Morgan Geekie
Defensemen
Hampus Lindholm-Ian Mitchell
Matt Grzelcyk-Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei-Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalies
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman