Bruins defeat Rangers, extend lead for second in Atlantic Division

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins extended their lead for second place in the Atlantic Division with a 6-3 win against the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Wednesday.

David Pastrnak had a hat trick and scored five points for the Bruins (47-21-9), who lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by six points with five games to go. The Maple Leafs lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
It was Pastrnak's third hat trick of the season and fourth in the regular season for the Bruins, who have won 12 in a row at home -- the sixth-longest such streak in their history. Pastrnak also had a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Bruins highlights]
Pastrnak has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in five games since returning after missing 16 games with a thumb injury. This was his first home game since his return.
"Yeah, obviously it helps a lot to me, coming back, you know, after a long [time] having not missed a game, so it was a bit tough at the beginning, but it was fun to be back at the Garden and play on home ice," Pastrnak said.

Mika Zibanejad scored two goals, and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for the Rangers (29-34-13), who lost for the first time in their past five games in Boston.
The Bruins scored four power-play goals on six opportunities. The Rangers were 2-for-4.
"Yeah, they killed us on their power play," Lundqvist said. "You know they have so many weapons. You try to take away the cross-passing, they go in and shoot for the tip. You take away anything high in the middle, they go across, so they exposed us big-time, and yeah, it was too bad."
Pastrnak scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the left face-off dot at 2:48 of the first period to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
Zibanejad tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 16:29.
David Krejci set up Pastrnak for his second and a 2-1 Boston lead at 9:15 of the second period.
Jake DeBrusk's goal extended the lead to 3-1 at 3:19 of the third period.

Ryan Strome brought the Rangers within 3-2 at 5:43, but Pastrnak completed the hat trick on the power play at 12:52 for a 4-2 lead. It was his 36th goal of the season, an NHL career high.
Patrice Bergeron's power-play goal at 16:23 made it 5-2, and Charlie McAvoy's power-play goal at 17:12 gave the Bruins a 6-2 lead.
"Obviously we know we want to be in second place to have home-ice advantage, so we have to win as many games as we can to get second place against, looks like Toronto, again," Krejci said. "It's big here also, and that's what we're playing for, and obviously at the same time [we need] good habits heading into the playoffs.
Zibanejad scored on the power play at 19:56 for the 6-3 final. It was his 30th goal of the season, the first time he has scored 30 in the NHL.

They said it

"Yeah, I mean it's hard enough to win in this league when you don't beat yourself, and you know, we did a lot of good things early, hanging around a really good hockey team, then just imploded." -- Rangers coach David Quinn
"He's got a little more energy too because he missed [16 games]. This time of year guys are trying to get to the finish line to a certain extent. Everybody has something to play for, don't get me wrong, but the playoffs are in sight. Because he missed time, like I said, he's got a little more in the tank." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on David Pastrnak

Need to know

Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich extended his point streak to five games (two goals, three assists). … Lundqvist became seventh goalie in NHL history to appear in 50 or more games in at least 12 seasons. … The Bruins home winning streak is their longest since a 14-game streak Oct. 25, 2008-Jan. 1, 2009. … Marchand had three assists to extend his multigame point streak to four (three goals, seven assists). … Bergeron extended his point streak to six games (six goals, six assists). … Bruins defenseman Torey Krug played 22:12 after missing six games with a concussion. He had two assists to give him 285 points and pass Craig Janney for the most by a U.S.-born player in Bruins history. … Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves for the Bruins.

What's next

Rangers: Host the St. Louis Blues on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, FS-MW+, NHL.TV)
Bruins: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN1, NESN, FS-F, NHL.TV)