FINAL SCORE: Bruins 5, Devils 1
IN BRIEF: David Pastrnak scored his first goal since returning from a thumb injury and Patrice Bergeron scored twice to reach 30 goals for the fifth time and lead the Bruins to a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night in Newark. BOX SCORE.
BRUINS RECORD: 45-20-9, 99 points, second in the Atlantic Division
HIGHLIGHTS:
BERGERON GETS IT STARTED:
PASTRNAK'S FIRST GOAL SINCE HIS RETURN:
HEINEN MAKES IT 3-1 IN THIRD:
FROM JOE HAGGERTY:
*A really good sign seeing Zdeno Chara with some jets in his skating legs to motor the puck up the ice and then create the goal-scoring play where Patrice Bergeron was wide open in the slot ready to receive a pass from David Pastrnak. Chara has been playing much fewer minutes than normal over the past couple of months with an eye on keeping him fresh late in the season, and for tonight at least, it seems to be working. Chara didn’t even get an assist on the play, but he had a strong evening while again playing a little less than he normally does as the workhorse No. 1 defenseman.
*Bergeron scored his 29th goal after burying a great Pastrnak centering pass after the Bruins took advantage of Andy Greene with no stick in the New Jersey defensive zone. He added an empty-netter in the final minute to hit the 30-goal mark for the fifth time in his 14-year career. So, the Bruins have all three members of the Perfection Line with 30 goals for the second consecutive season. Bergeron was also a key figure in an offensive zone face-off win that set up Boston’s second goal.
Boston Bruins
*It was a tough break for Sean Kuraly in the third period as he blocked a shot from the point that clearly dinged up his hand or thumb and it kick-started a breakaway the other way. The puck bounced to Danton Heinen’s stick as he rushed up the ice and he managed to shoot on the rush and snapped it top-corner past Cory Schneider for the insurance goal in the third period. Kuraly took the hit to make the play and did manage to return to the bench after getting some repairs in the B’s dressing room, but he was never able to get back into the game. It would be a tough loss if the B’s lose Kuraly for any amount of time given how good that fourth line has been.
UP NEXT:
At Panthers, Saturday, 7 p.m., NESN
At Lightning, Monday, 7:30 p.m., NESN
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