Pastrnak scores twice as Bruins torch Utah 6-1 with perfect power play

Five minutes changed the night

Boston did not need a long stretch to take control. The game was scoreless until Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring at 10:06 of the first period on a wrist shot set up by James Hagens and Elias Lindholm. Once that first goal arrived, the Bruins turned the period into a sprint Utah could not slow down.

David Pastrnak doubled the lead at 14:22, finishing a play started by Frederic Brunet and Morgan Geekie. Just 1:29 later, Mason Lohrei made it 3-0 with another wrist shot, this time from Matthew Poitras and Mark Kastelic. Three goals in 5:45 gave Boston a margin that changed the rest of the evening.

That burst mattered even more because Utah did enough elsewhere to suggest a closer game was available. The Mammoth finished ahead 30-16 in shots and won 61.1 per cent of the faceoffs, but the first-period damage forced them to spend the rest of the night trying to erase a deficit Boston had built with clinical finishing.

Pastrnak and Geekie kept piling on

The Bruins did not let the game settle in the second period. Pastrnak struck again at 4:40 on a slap shot, with Geekie and Hampus Lindholm collecting the assists. Geekie then scored at 7:57 from Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha, and Poitras pushed the score to 6-0 at 14:08 after another Pastrnak setup.

Pastrnak finished with two goals and two assists, the most influential skater on the ice by any measure available from the box score. Geekie added a goal and two assists, while Poitras had a goal and an assist. Boston recorded 11 assists on its six goals, a sign that even in a low-volume shooting night, its best sequences ended with clean connections and decisive finishes.

Special teams widened the gap just as sharply. Boston scored on all three of its power-play opportunities, while Utah went 0-for-6. In a game where the Mammoth generated more shots and controlled the faceoff circle, that difference alone would have been difficult to survive. Coupled with Boston's efficiency at even strength, it made the outcome one-sided long before the third period.

Our take

This was a convincing scoreline, but not a flawless Bruins template. Boston finished with only 16 shots, lost the faceoff battle badly and took six minor penalties for 12 minutes. What carried the home side was ruthless execution: six goals on limited chances, three power-play conversions in three opportunities, and enough shot blocking to blunt Utah's larger shot total.

For Utah, the clearest problem was not the ability to generate attempts. The Mammoth put up 30 shots, won most of the draws and received six power plays. The issue was what came next. None of those advantages produced a breakthrough until the third period, when Utah finally scored its lone goal after Boston had already built a 6-0 lead. Against a team finishing at Boston's rate, that kind of missed special-teams opportunity leaves almost no recovery path.

There is also no way around the early goaltending damage. Utah used both Sebastian Cossa and Karel Vejmelka, and each allowed three goals on eight shots against. That does not explain the whole loss, but it does explain why the Bruins were able to turn a fairly ordinary shot total into a runaway result. On this night, Boston made nearly every opening count, and Utah never found a sequence strong enough to change the script.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 10:06

   Casey Mittelstadt Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: James Hagens (1), Elias Lindholm (2)

2. 1st · 14:22

   David Pastrnak Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Frederic Brunet (1), Morgan Geekie (2)

3. 1st · 15:51

   Mason Lohrei Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Poitras (1), Mark Kastelic (3)

4. 2nd · 4:40

   David Pastrnak Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Morgan Geekie (3), Hampus Lindholm (2)

5. 2nd · 7:57

   Morgan Geekie Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (3), Pavel Zacha (1)

6. 2nd · 14:08

   Matthew Poitras Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (4)