David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha each logged a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman tied his career-high mark with 43 saves as the Boston Bruins beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Reaching the 20-goal plateau for the ninth time in his 11-year NHL career, Pastrnak scored his seventh goal and 10th point over a six-game span in the second period to ensure his second consecutive three-point effort.
Andrew Peeke had a goal and an assist, while Trent Frederic, Parker Wotherspoon (first NHL goal) and Brad Marchand also scored for the Bruins, who have followed up a season-long 0-5-1 skid with consecutive victories.
Swayman stopped 18 shots in the second period as Boston avenged a 4-1 loss at Tampa Bay last Thursday.
Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist and Connor Geekie also scored for Tampa Bay, which had won three of its last four (3-0-1). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves.
Following a morning call-up from AHL Providence for his first action with Boston since November, Poitras made an immediate impact when he rushed up the right wing and dished across to a charging Frederic to score the game-opening goal at the 4:24 mark.
The Bruins upped their lead to 2-0 on just six first-period shots at 9:31 as Wotherspoon took Pastrnak’s cross-ice pass and unleashed a top-shelf snap shot from the left circle.
Marchand extended the Boston lead to three 1:13 into the second. After Hedman’s shot sailed wide of Swayman at the other end of the ice, a quick Pastrnak feed in the neutral zone led his captain down the left side to beat Vasilevskiy high to the blocker side.
Playing at 4-on-4, Pastrnak slotted home Boston’s fourth goal at 6:05. After Vasilevskiy stopped Morgan Geekie in the slot, Zacha recovered the puck and dished it to Pastrnak to snap home from the left circle.
Tampa Bay cut within 4-2 before the second intermission, getting on the board first at 8:50 when Connor Geekie tipped home a Hedman point shot from directly in front of Swayman.
With 17.2 seconds left in the period, just after Swayman made a point-blank stop on Nikita Kucherov, Hedman corralled a Kucherov feed and snapped it off after charging into the circle from the left point.
Peeke and Zacha scored short-handed empty-net goals from Boston’s own zone within the first 29 seconds of a late penalty kill.
The game featured Boston defenseman Michael Callahan and Tampa Bay center Jack Finley making their NHL debuts.
–Field Level Media
