Bruins Beat Wild 6-3 In ‘A Great Team Effort’

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3 on Saturday at TD Garden.

Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm each had two goals, Casey Mittelstadt had three assists, and Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves in the victory over the top-ranked Wild.

“It was a complete 60-minute effort. Every line brought something to the table – could be a fight, could be a goal, whatever it is. Sway in net, outstanding again,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “That’s who we are, and that’s what I like the most.”

Andrew Peeke got the Bruins going early with his fifth goal of the season. David Pastrnak wheeled the puck around before chipping it to Peeke in the right circle, where he sniped it past Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson for the 1-0 lead at 1:01. It extended Pastrnak’s point streak to 12 games.

“It is always nice playing with the lead,” Pastrnak said. “Overall, a great team effort. Every line contributed tonight, shift by shift, 5-on-5. It’s a good team win.”

The second line continued its consistent production for the 2-0 advantage at 14:00. Mittelstadt collected the puck in the defensive end and sent it up to Viktor Arvidsson, who broke out on an odd-man rush with Zacha. Arvidsson dished a cross-crease pass to Zacha, who one-timed it in for his 25th goal of the year.

“He’s scoring a lot of goals, but his 200-foot game is unbelievable. I think he helps our team up and down the ice,” Arvidsson said of Zacha. “He battles in the D-zone. The trust from me and Casey is there, and we know he’s going to do everything he can to win the battle and come out with the puck.”​

Arvidsson buried one of his own in the middle frame following a dominant shift from the B’s. Hampus Lindholm zipped the puck to Pastrnak from the point. No. 88 carried it down and swung it over to Arvidsson on the left side for the snap shot that made it 3-0 at 10:27.

It was Arvidsson’s 21st goal of the season, and his second point of the night. It also marked another two-point showing for Pastrnak; he has five points in the last two games.

“You can look at the standings – that’s going to make you focus up and dial in. Every single play matters now, especially the game keeps coming,” Pastrnak said. “We have to remain focused and make it hard for the other team, because when we play like that and try to frustrate the other team, usually most of the time, we come out on top.”

Kirill Kaprizov got the Wild on the board, 3-1, with a wrist shot at 14:46 to close out the second period.

Elias Lindholm widened the gap for the Bruins to open the third. H. Lindholm – who picked up his second point of the game – rocketed one from the top of the zone. Lukas Reichel poked the rebound loose and over to E. Lindholm in the crease, who knocked it in for the 4-1 lift at 3:48. It was E. Lindholm’s 15th tally of the year – and third in four games.

A power-play goal from Mats Zuccarello at 7:57 pulled Minnesota within two, 4-2, before Ryan Hartman batted one in to make it 4-3 at 13:44.

Zacha’s second of the night earned a 5-3 scoreline at 16:50. The center tipped in Mittelstadt’s shot, finishing a cumulative seven-point showing from the second line. E. Lindholm’s empty-net wrister at 19:26 brought the contest to its final 6-3 standing, and marked his second of the game, too.

“We have a lot of hard teams to play for the next nine games, and there’s going to be some pushes in the game,” Zacha said. “That’s what a mature team does – they’re able to kind of respond. They have one, two bad shifts, but then go right back to what was successful for them before. If we keep doing that, we’re going to be winning more games than losing.”

The Bruins are back in action on Sunday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena for the second game of a back-to-back.

“Hopefully, we can use that momentum into tomorrow,” said Peeke, the former Blue Jacket. “They’re right in the race, too. It’s a big matchup for both teams, and it’s exciting. That’s what makes this part of the year fun – being in that hunt. Every game feels like a playoff game, and that’s really exciting.”