Bruins fans were promised competitiveness, toughness and, of course, a little piss and vinegar before this season started.
Nobody told them they’d get much goal scoring.
But the Bruins notched their fourth consecutive win on Thursday with a 6-3 win over the Jets in Winnipeg and during this current streak, they have scored 20 goals. They had already started the night in the top 10 in goals.
In his second game back from injury, David Pastrnak enjoyed a four-point night (2-2) for seven points in the two games. The B’s also improved their road record to .500 at 8-8. Joonas Korpisalo made 26 saves for the win.
The B’s got back Charlie McAvoy (assist, plus-4), but lost Jonathan Aspirot and Viktor Arvidsson along the way.
With standout goalie Connor Hellebuyck still on the shelf, the Jets came into the game losers of their previous two and eight of their previous 10.
As soon as the puck was dropped, Jets’ defenseman Luke Schenn – no doubt trying to get his team into the game off the bat – dropped the gloves with Mark Kastelic. The Bruin wing got in a couple of rights before he lost his footing.
That was the start of a wild first period that saw five goals scored and the B’s take a one-goal lead into the first intermission.
The Jets got on the board first at 5:59, shortly after the B’s killed off the first penalty of the game. Josh Morrissey’s shot did not get through to Joonas Korpisalo but the B’s could not locate the puck and Morgan Barron punched it home from the side of the crease.
But the B’s would score the next three goals in less than three minutes. They took the lead thanks to a pair of offensive zone penalties.
On the first PP, McAvoy, in his first game since suffering a broken jaw on Nov. 15, dished to Pastrnak and, with the help of an Elias Lindholm screen, the sharpshooter beat Eric Comrie with his 12th of the season at 8:24. It was also his 403rd career goal, pushing him ahead of Rick Middleton into sole possession of fifth place in Bruins’ history.
Then on the next power play, Mason Lohrei made a terrific pass to Casey Mittelstadt for an open-net goal at 10:28, his seventh.
Finally, just 40 seconds later, Sean Kuraly scored on a nice backhander for his third of the season.
But if the B’s had visions of running the Jets out of their own building, they were disabused of that notion at 13:37. Alex Iafallo skated right through Lohrei’s check attempt along the boards and then lifted the puck over Korpisalo to get the Jets back to within a goal.
While the B’s got back McAvoy, the injury bug continued to nip at the B’s. Aspirot, who has played so well since being recalled from Providence, suffered an upper body injury in the first and did not return.
The game settled down a little bit in the second period and the B’s regained their two-goal lead at 14:36. Coach Marco Sturm put Pastrnak up with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie and it led to the B’s fourth goal. Comrie made an excellent pad save on Pastrnak in tight but the rebound bounced out high. Hampus Lindholm stepped into a slapper and beat Comrie for his second of the year.
But the B’s penchant for penalties caught up to them again. With Andrew Peeke in the box for interference, Gabe Vilardi scored from the side of the crease at 17:46.
The B’s headed into the third period with a one-goal lead that looked slim with the way the Jets (24-15 shot advantage through two periods) were spending time in their zone.
And after starting the second down a defenseman, the B’s went into the third period down a forward when Arvidsson couldn’t finish the game because of a lower body injury.
But with 5:17 left in regulation, the B’s regained their two-goal lead back. Pastrnak collected a loose puck behind the net and dished to Elias Lindholm in front and the centerman snapped home his first 5-on-5 goal of the season, his fifth tally of the year.
Pastrnak finished it off wit an empty-netter.
