Pastrnak has goal and 3 assists as Bruins beat Canucks 5-1

David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists as the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night.

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press
December 15, 2024 at 6:17AM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists as the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night.

Pavel Zacha had a goal and an assist, and Brad Marchand, Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin also scored for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman stopped 19 shots.

Max Sasson scored his first NHL goal for the Canucks, and Thatcher Demko made 24 saves. Vancouver lost for the third time in four games (1-2-1).

Marchand opened the scoring on a power play 5:12 into the game, and Geekie made it 2-0 less than 3 minutes later. Zacha and McLaughlin doubled the lead in the second period, and Pastrnak made it 5-0 in the opening minute of the third.

Sasson spoiled Swayman's shutout bid midway through the third.

Takeaways

Bruins: After being outscored 13-2 over their last two games — an 8-1 loss to Winnipeg Jets and a 5-1 defeat to Seattle — Boston's offense erupted in Vancouver. Former Canucks center Elias Lindholm set up Marchand for the first goal of the night and registered his first point in 11 games.

Canucks: Vancouver was coming off a 4-0 win over Florida on Thursday, but struggled at both ends of the ice against Boston. Tje Canucks were outshot 29-20.

Key moment

On Marchand's goal, he got a pass from Lindholm and popped it in behind Demko from the side of the net. The veteran forward then lifted his hand to his ear, welcoming the barrage of boos from Canucks fans as he celebrated his 13th goal of the season.

Key stat

Pastrnak posted the 400th assist of his NHL career. He's the 11th player in Bruins' history to accomplish the feat.

Up Next

Bruins visit Calgary on Tuesday, and Canucks host Colorado on Monday to finish a six-game homestand.

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