Zacha scores twice, Bruins defeat Penguins for third win in row

PITTSBURGH -- Pavel Zacha scored twice, helping the Boston Bruins win 6-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Morgan Geekie had a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka each had two assists for the Bruins (12-4-1), who have won three straight and five of seven. Michael DiPietro made 16 saves. 

"We've been deeper this year than in the past, we feel like," Boston coach Marco Sturm said. "Every line can score and every line can be out there in any time of the game. ... I think we probably caught them at the right time too, Pittsburgh. But yeah, it's always nice to see all the goals, all the lines, contribute."

Justin Brazeau and Nicholas Robertson scored, and Kaedan Korczak had two assists for the Penguins (5-9-2), who have lost four in a row (0-3-1). Arturs Silovs made 18 saves.

"For me, it's the stuff that's totally preventable," Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. "Just making sure that the structure is there, but then also, the defensive positioning, the box-outs, the getting sticks (in lanes). I mean, the number of breakaways that we gave up tonight, you can't expect our goalies to come up with those saves. There's nothing sustainable there.” 

Brazeau put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 on its first shot on goal at 9:04 of the first period, dropping to one knee in the right face-off circle for a snap shot set up by Hendrix Lapierre below the goal line. 

Boston then scored three goals in 6:50. 

Zacha tied it 1-1 at 12:07 on a wrist shot over Silovs off a pass from Pastrnak through the crease. 

Mark Kastelic gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 15:04 with a deflection in the slot on a point shot from Frederic Brunet. 

Elias Lindholm made it 3-1 at 18:57. After intercepting a pass from Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh's zone, he froze Silovs with a shot fake and slid a shot under his glove. 

"You try your best," Silovs said. "(They were) getting, like, loud chances, but I'm there to stop the puck. Trying to do my best, but it didn't happen."

Robertson cut it to 3-2 at 7:57 of the second period, redirecting a shot from Korczak for his team-leading seventh goal. 

Zacha scored again, extending the lead to 4-2 at 14:24 with a wrist shot off a pass from Peterka on a 2-on-1. 

"When we're playing the right way as lines, I think we find ways," Zacha said. "I think we have a lot of skill but I think when we can kind of add winning the battles and making the wall plays, that's how we scored some goals, good wall plays. And we have a fast team through the neutral zone, so we know we can use that. Just using guys for their skill sets, and I think every line can score, which is great." 

Geekie pushed it to 5-2 on a breakaway at 16:57, taking a pass from Hampus Lindholm during a Pittsburgh line change to go in alone for a wrist shot.  He has scored in three straight games. 

"I think we rely on our structure a lot throughout the game and we kind of just wait for mistakes," Geekie said. "Teams are good. Sometimes it takes 60 minutes to finally see a breakthrough. Tonight, we saw a couple go in a little earlier than that. 

"But we all kind of play the same way. There's not really any difference between the four lines. We're all, kind of, workers." 

Fraser Minten scored with a snap shot on a 2-on-1 at 8:39 of the third period for the 6-2 final. 

"We've just got to be better," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "We're not consistent enough through games. We're just making mistakes that are big ones, you know, big chances that we're giving up.” 

NOTES: Bruins forward James Hagens left early in the third period after taking a crosscheck to the back from Penguins defenseman Samuel Girard. ... Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had one shot on goal in 16:11 of ice time after missing a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury. ... Brazeau's goal was his first in two games this season after missing the first 14 with a lower-body injury.