Zacha's Two Goals Lead Bruins Past Pens 6-2

Pavel Zacha scored twice, and the Boston Bruins buried the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday for their third straight win. Zacha tied the game in the first, then ripped home another on a 2-on-1 in the second as Boston rolled to 12-4-1.

Pittsburgh fell to 5-9-2 and has dropped four in a row (0-3-1). Justin Brazeau and Nicholas Robertson scored for the Penguins, but the Bruins answered every punch and got goals from four different lines.

Three Goals in Under Seven Minutes

Brazeau put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 9:04 of the first on the Penguins' first shot. Boston flipped the script in a hurry. Zacha tied it at 12:07 off a David Pastrnak feed through the crease, Mark Kastelic tipped Frederic Brunet's point shot for 2-1 at 15:04, and Elias Lindholm made it 3-1 at 18:57 after intercepting an Erik Karlsson pass and sliding one under Arturs Silovs.

Three goals in 6:50 flipped a quiet start into a road statement. Michael DiPietro made 16 saves, and Silovs finished with 18.

Every Line Getting Involved

Robertson tipped Kaedan Korczak's shot to cut it to 3-2 early in the second, but Zacha answered at 14:24 off a JJ Peterka feed on a 2-on-1. Morgan Geekie made it 5-2 on a breakaway at 16:57, scoring in a third straight game. Fraser Minten closed it at 8:39 of the third on another 2-on-1.

Pastrnak and Peterka each finished with two assists. Coach Marco Sturm said the Bruins feel deeper than in past years, with every line able to score and play in any situation. Zacha pointed to wall battles and speed through the neutral zone as the difference when the lines are rolling.

Penguins Still Searching

Boston came in having won five of seven and left Pittsburgh with another statement that the depth Sturm talks about is not just coach-speak. Geekie's breakaway and Minten's 2-on-1 were the kind of opportunistic finishes that bury a team already leaking chances.

Sidney Crosby said Pittsburgh is not consistent enough and keeps giving up big chances. Coach Dan Muse called the defensive mistakes preventable after a night that featured multiple breakaways against. Evgeni Malkin returned from a lower-body injury and had one shot in 16:11.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Zacha's shots on goal. He scored twice on clean looks Thursday, and that middle-six finishing touch is showing up night after night on this Bruins run.

Three straight wins, five of seven, and a 6-2 road thrashing. Boston is rolling, and Pittsburgh is stuck spinning its wheels.