Michael DiPietro stopped 25 shots for his first NHL win, and the Boston Bruins erased a two-goal hole with three power-play strikes to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 at Honda Center on Friday.
David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm each finished with a goal and an assist as Boston improved to 6-2-0 and stretched its winning streak to four games. Frederic Brunet collected his first NHL goal, while Pavel Zacha and James Hagens supplied two assists apiece.
For Anaheim, Tim Washe and Beckett Sennecke scored in a 21-second burst late in the first period, but the Ducks could not protect another early lead. Anaheim, now 4-3-0, also surrendered a 2-0 advantage in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Calgary.
After the horn
The Ducks grabbed the lead with 38 seconds left in the opening period. Washe fired a low wrist shot from above the left circle that traveled through teammate Jeff Malott’s screen and slipped between DiPietro’s pads.
Anaheim struck again 21 seconds later. Sennecke picked off a clearing attempt in the neutral zone and drove into the middle before moving the puck to Cutter Gauthier. Gauthier redirected the play to Nikita Nesterenko in the right circle, and Nesterenko quickly returned it to Sennecke at the far post for the finish.
Boston got its first answer at 3:15 of the second period, with Brunet scoring on the power play. His shot from inside the blue line fluttered through Lukas Dostal shortly after DiPietro denied Nesterenko on a shorthanded breakaway.
Brunet was blunt about the milestone goal.
“That might have been the worst shot I’ve ever taken,” Brunet said. “I honestly did not think it had gone in.”
The rookie defenseman had shared the AHL dressing room with DiPietro in Providence and said the goaltender had earned his breakthrough NHL result.
“Getting my first goal on the same night he gets his first win is pretty special,” Brunet said. “He works as hard as anyone I’ve played with, and nobody is more deserving.”
Anaheim had a chance to restore control late in the second after Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov received a double minor for elbowing and roughing Frank Vatrano. The Ducks’ advantage carried into the third, but Roger McQueen’s interference penalty with 38 seconds remaining on Zadorov’s second minor wiped it out.
The Bruins immediately turned that opening into the tying goal. Pastrnak’s initial pass toward Lindholm was knocked away by Noah Warren, but the puck came back to Pastrnak, who tucked a backhand into an open net at 3:26 of the third.
Lindholm put Boston ahead for good at 8:18, setting up at the top of the crease and converting Zacha’s feed on another man advantage. Matthew Poitras added insurance at 16:20, beating Dostal’s right pad on a 2-on-1 with Hagens.
Boston entered the game having gone 3-for-18 on the power play. It went 3-for-4 against Anaheim, while the Ducks were blanked on five opportunities.
“DiPietro was our top penalty killer tonight,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “The kill was excellent, and the power play made the difference.”
Sturm also pointed to Lindholm’s impact beyond the scoresheet.
“He had jump from the first day of camp and makes smart decisions,” Sturm said. “He does a lot to help us win that probably does not get enough recognition.”
Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said his club created enough chances during its power-play time but failed to capitalize.
“There were some very good looks, including plays that appeared to have an open net,” Quenneville said. “We just did not finish them.”
Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe said the early push has been encouraging, but it has to last through the final horn.
“We have started games better than we did last season, and that is positive,” LaCombe said. “Now we need to keep competing and stay detailed for the whole 60 minutes.”
Sturm felt Anaheim’s early energy eventually faded.
“They came at us hard and had plenty of juice early,” he said. “With a young team, sustaining that pace for 60 minutes is difficult. We were hoping they would slow down, and they did.”
- Pastrnak’s goal was No. 423 with Boston, moving him past Brad Marchand into sole possession of fourth place in Bruins history.
- Lindholm won 18 of 23 faceoffs. Boston went 40-for-58 at the dot, a 69 percent success rate.
- Anaheim had entered the night with 11 consecutive successful penalty kills.
- Dostal made 18 saves for the Ducks.
- Gauthier returned after missing the Calgary game with an upper-body injury. Playing center for the first time in his NHL career, he won four of 20 faceoffs.
- Ducks forward Mikael Granlund missed the game with an upper-body injury and is listed day to day.
