Pastrnak, Orlov propel Bruins past Sabres for 9th straight win

BOSTON -- David Pastrnak and Dmitry Orlov each had a goal and two assists for the Boston Bruins in their ninth straight win, 7-1 against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on Thursday.

Pastrnak
signed an eight-year, $90 million contract
Thursday morning. It has an annual average value of $11.25 million.
Jakub Lauko scored twice, and Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves for the Bruins (48-8-5), who extended their season-high winning streak. Boston (101) became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season, doing so in 61 games. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens held the previous record at 62 games.
"For me personally, it doesn't mean that much," Bruins coach and Montreal native Jim Montgomery said. "We try to stay in the moment, and we've been doing that. We started off 11-1, and I was like, 'Man, that's unreal,' and then you catch yourself and you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have. It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great, because with the schedule and everything, it's really impressive."

Boston forward Brad Marchand exited in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
"We think it's going to be all right, but we're not positive yet," Montgomery said.
Casey Mittelstadt scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves for the Sabres (31-25-4), who lost their second straight game after winning five of the previous six.
"The game didn't get away from us in the first period; it got away from us in the second a bit," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We still had opportunities, and I thought tonight we didn't play with our pace that we need."
The goalies exchanged big stops through the first 32 minutes to keep it level, with Swayman stopping a JJ Peterka breakaway at 14:55 of the first period, and Luukkonen responding with back-to-back split saves on each leg against Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha two minutes into the second period.
Orlov broke through to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:01 of the second period. He fired a one-timer from the right face-off circle on a 4-on-3 power play after Pastrnak got tripped by Luukkonen to set up the man-advantage.
"It is what it is," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "We've got to try and kill a penalty. It was a pretty even game. I mean, they capitalize on their opportunities and we didn't. They're obviously a really sound team structurally. They're very disciplined, and we just cracked first."

Orlov has eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games since he was traded to Boston from the Washington Capitals on Feb. 23.
"It's special to be here," Orlov said. "We're playing good hockey right now, especially today. Maybe [Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win against Calgary] wasn't great, but we still found a way to win, and it's important. It's what good teams do."
Lauko made it 2-0 at 13:27, scoring on a rebound out in front after Brandon Carlo shot on net from behind the right circle and Luukkonen redirected the puck.
Zacha made it 3-0 at 8:35 of the third period, firing off David Krejci's backhand feed across the net front and scoring in his third straight game.

Pastrnak made it 4-0 at 14:44 of the third period on an empty-net goal from the left circle before Mittelstadt cut it to 4-1 at 15:40.
"We've got some skill," said Buffalo defenseman Riley Stillman, who made his Sabres debut after being traded from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. "We have some serious skill. We can make plays, and we're going to be a good hockey club. Obviously, tonight's a bit of an anomaly. We got to park it and move on, and get ready to go here in a couple days."
Patrice Bergeron extended it to 5-1 at 16:39 on a short-handed, empty-net goal. Connor Clifton followed up with a short-handed goal 24 seconds later at 17:03 to make it 6-1.
Lauko scored his second goal with 52 seconds left for the 7-1 final.
"Every game matters. We need the points," Swayman said. "It's special to see these guys respond the way we did after a long flight, a long road trip, and keep that winning momentum going. I got the best seat in the house. It's pretty special watching these guys do what they do."
NOTES: Buffalo forward Tage Thompson's career-high seven-game point streak (six goals, five assists) ended. He had one shot on goal and was minus-2. … Pastrnak's three points gave him 83 on the season, fourth-most in the NHL. … Orlov's three goals in four games with the Bruins matched his total with Washington this season before the trade (43 games).