David Pastrnak took control of the game, and then he took over the postgame news conference from linemate and Game 5 co-star Brad Marchand.
After scoring twice, including the tiebreaking goal with 1:28 left, Pastrnak noticed that the man known as a "Little Ball of Hate" was getting a little salty about the questions surrounding their line's lack of production earlier in the playoffs.
"I'll take this," Pastrnak said with a smile, "Marchy's a bit crispy tonight."
One game after the Bruins' top line combined for five points, Pastrnak, Marchand and Patrice Bergeron scored three goals and totaled six points in Game 5 on Saturday night as the host Bruins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 and give Boston a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Pastrnak flipped a cross-ice pass from Marchand into the goal to cap a wild third period, and Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots for the Bruins. Marchand had a goal and two assists, and David Krejci also scored for Boston.
"They break through the other night and now they're feeling good about themselves," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They're dominant when they're on. And when they're feeling it, it's a tall task for the other team."
Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets, who need to win Game 6 on Monday night back in Columbus to force the series back to Boston for Game 7.
San Jose 2, Colorado 1: Tomas Hertl scored his second goal of the game with 13:34 remaining in the third period and the host Sharks went on to beat the Avalanche to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
