5 takeaways as Bruins crush Penguins for third straight win

After a couple hard-fought wins over Chicago and Vegas that required extra time, the Bruins' third straight win on Thursday was of the much more dominant variety, as they cruised past the Penguins 6-2 in Pittsburgh.

Pavel Zacha scored twice, and linemates David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka each had two assists. The Bruins also got goals from Mark Kastelic, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie and Fraser Minten, while Michael DiPietro stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced to improve to 4-1-0 on the season.

In a game with only two penalties, the Bruins did all their damage at even strength, scoring a season-high six goals at 5-on-5. Boston is now an NHL-best plus-22 at 5-on-5 this season.

First line takes over

The Bruins' first line took control in this one, led by two goals from Pavel Zacha. The first tied the game at 1-1 midway through the first, with a dominant offensive-zone shift ending with a nice sauce pass across the front from David Pastrnak to Zacha.

The second came in the second period and pushed Boston's lead to 4-2, a needed response after the Penguins had cut the lead to one with a strong push to open the second. Hampus Lindholm killed a play in the defensive zone, Pastrnak chipped the puck out to JJ Peterka in the neutral zone, and Peterka led the transition before setting up Zacha for another good finish.

The Peterka-Zacha-Pastrnak line hadn't been bad by any means. But they had been a bit too inconsistent since being put together two weeks ago – a couple really good games, a couple bad ones, a few somewhere in between. This was a really good game, and one they'll aim to build on Sunday at TD Garden for a big matinee showdown with the Florida Panthers.

Frederic Brunet returns to lineup, sets up goal

After three straight healthy scratches, Brunet returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact by assisting on the Bruins' second goal. After Sean Kuraly won an offensive-zone faceoff, Tanner Jeannot worked the puck back to Brunet at the point. The rookie defenseman then set up Mark Kastelic with a perfectly tippable shot.

Bruins coach Marco Sturm had made it clear that he wasn't punishing Brunet by sitting him down, but rather resetting him after he felt his game had slipped a little bit. It also gave Sturm a chance to get veterans Connor Clifton and Jonathan Aspirot back into some game action.

Brunet and D partner Mason Lohrei were victimized on the Penguins' second goal, although a sloppy change by Boston's forwards also contributed. So, it wasn't a perfect return to the lineup by any means, but Brunet was solid overall.

Elias Lindholm keeps rolling

Lindholm's bounce-back season continued with his sixth goal of the season. It came late in the first period off an absolute gift from fellow Swede Erik Karlsson, who turned the puck over right to him in the Pittsburgh zone. Lindholm made him pay with a nice finish around goalie Arturs Silovs.

Lindholm's six goals are tied with linemate James Hagens for second on the team behind only Pastrnak's eight. His 14 points in 17 games are also second behind Pastrnak's 22. Lindholm's 0.82 points per game would be his best scoring pace since his 82-point season with Calgary back in 2021-22.

Morgan Geekie stays hot

Make it three straight games with a goal for Geekie, whose slow start to the season is quickly looking like old news. Geekie scored the Bruins' fifth goal Thursday, taking a stretch pass from Hampus Lindholm and racing in alone before beating Silovs glove-side.

Geekie nearly scored on a similar play just 20 seconds later, as he got a step on the Pittsburgh defense again and fired a shot that went in and out of Silovs' glove before trickling just wide of the post.

It's not just that Geekie is suddenly finishing more of his chances; it's that he's taking more shots in general. He now has five or more shot attempts in four of the last five games. Prior to that, he only had that many in two of the first 12 games.

James Hagens leaves with injury

The biggest negative for the Bruins came early in the third period when Penguins defenseman Samuel Girard crosschecked James Hagens in the lower back as Hagens drove across the front of the net.

Hagens grabbed at that area, where there's no padding, right away as he skated gingerly back to the bench. After a quick chat with a trainer and some further grimacing, Hagens made his way back to the locker room and did not return to the game.

Sturm did not have any update after the game, so we'll see over the next couple days if Hagens has a chance to play Sunday against Florida, or if he's going to miss some time. The Bruins are off Friday, but will practice Saturday at Warrior Ice Arena.