Pastrnak scores twice, Bruins hand Flyers 5th straight loss

PHILADELPHIA -- David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist for the Boston Bruins in a 6-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist, and Danton Heinen and Charlie Coyle scored for Boston (31-9-9). Linus Ullmark made 35 saves for Boston, which won for the seventh time in eight games.

It was the final game for each team prior to the NHL All-Star break. Boston next hosts the Calgary Flames on Feb. 6; Philadelphia next plays at the Florida Panthers on Feb. 6.

"That's what you want in that last game [before the NHL All-Star break]," Coyle said. "You know what's right around the corner, but you make sure we focus, do all the right things, create our good habits still. You feel much better going into a break when you have a solid game. You win like that, you get to enjoy your break a little more."

Tyson Foerster scored twice for Philadelphia (25-19-6), which lost its fifth straight game and has been outscored 27-12 in that span. Cal Petersen made 12 saves on 14 shots after replacing Samuel Ersson to start the second period. Ersson made 10 saves on 14 shots.

"We've lost ourselves a little bit here," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "I think we've lost confidence offensively, although I thought we generated some offense today. That's how the League works sometimes, you have some good weeks and you have some struggles. We're having some struggles now. We've just got to try to put our head down and see if we can solve some problems and get better."

Pastrnak scored the first of four Bruins goals in a 4:14 span in the first period, with a shot from the right face-off circle making it 1-0 at 14:09

"I was looking to give and go with 'Pav' (Pavel Zacha), but then I recognized I have a little bit more time," Pastrnak said. "I saw my [defenseman] and tried to go through his legs and definitely use the [defenseman] that was on me as a screen."

McAvoy put Boston ahead 2-0 at 15:46 when he pinched down and scored from the backdoor off a pass by Zacha that went off van Riemsdyk's skate.

Heinen made it 3-0 at 16:47 when he tipped a shot by Brandon Carlo.

Pastrnak finished the run with a goal from in front to make it 4-0 at 18:23.

"I actually thought the Flyers were significantly better than us the first 10 minutes of the game, and our big-time players made some big-time plays, including our goaltender, who was spectacular," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said.

Van Riemsdyk scored to push the lead to 5-0 at 1:15 of the second period. Pastrnak got to a loose puck behind the Philadelphia net and found van Riemsdyk in front.

"He's a game-breaker, right?" Montgomery said of Pastrnak. "And he gives us an advantage that, in close games, we can win them."

Pastrnak has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in a seven-game point streak against the Flyers, and 42 points (26 goals, 16 assists) in 29 games against them. The forward said he's had a special connection with Philadelphia, where Boston made him the No. 25 pick of the 2014 NHL Draft.

"This is where my dream started," he said. "This is where everything started for me and was kind of my first step to the career that I'm having right now."

Foerster scored from the slot to make it 5-1 at 15:23, and made it 5-2 at 11:24 of the third period when his shot from the slot went off the stick of Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

"It obviously feels good to score, but I'd give away those goals for a win any time," Foerster said. 

Coyle scored for the 6-2 final at 14:45 of the third.

NOTES:...  Pastrnak has 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists), the second straight season he's reached 70 points in fewer than 50 games. He's the fifth Bruins player to do it, joining Phil Esposito (six times), Bobby Orr (six), Adam Oates (two) and Bill Cowley (two). ... Coyle extended his point streak to eight games (four goals, 12 assists), the longest of his NHL career. ... Bruins forward Trent Frederic had an assist on Coyle's goal to give him points in five straight games (one goal, five assists), the longest of his NHL career. ... Van Riemsdyk played his first game in Philadelphia since signing with the Bruins on July 1. He has played eight of his 15 NHL seasons in two stints with the Flyers.. … Bruins forwards Jake DeBrusk (undisclosed) and Matthew Poitras (undisclosed), and defenseman Derek Forbort (undisclosed) did not play. Montgomery said DeBrusk is day to day but didn't have a timeline on Poitras or Forbort. ... Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula was out because of an illness. … Following the game, the Flyers announced they signed forward Ryan Poehling to a two-year, $3.8 million contract. Poehling, who has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 45 games this season, could have become a restricted free agent after the season.