Bruins Rally Past Ducks 4-2: Lindholm, Pastrnak Spark Comeback

The Boston Bruins stormed back from a two-goal first-period deficit to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Friday night at Honda Center, scoring four unanswered goals -- three on the power play -- to extend their winning streak to four games and improve to 6-2-0 on the season.

Bruins Erase 2-0 Hole in Anaheim

The night started badly for Boston. Tim Washe opened the scoring with 37.3 seconds left in the first period, sliding a long wrist shot through a screen and through Michael DiPietro's legs. Just 21 seconds later, Beckett Sennecke finished a slick passing play -- Cutter Gauthier touching it to Nikita Nesterenko, who fed Sennecke for the redirect at the far post -- to make it 2-0. Sennecke's tally was his fifth of the season.

Anaheim controlled the opening 20 minutes, but the Ducks went into a shell. They managed only four shots on goal in the third period and were blanked on five power-play chances after entering the night with the league's second-best power play at 33.3 percent. Goalie Lukas Dostal finished with 18 saves.

Power Play Erupts at the Right Time

Boston's comeback started with the man advantage. Rookie defenseman Frederic Brunet, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick playing in just his sixth NHL game, wired a long shot from the blue line through traffic at 3:15 of the second period for his first career NHL goal, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

David Pastrnak tied it early in the third, pouncing on a loose puck during a scramble on the power play at 3:26 for his third goal of the season -- the 423rd of his career, moving him past Brad Marchand into sole possession of fourth place on the Bruins' all-time goals list. He trails only Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459) and Patrice Bergeron (427).

Five minutes later, Elias Lindholm capped a two-point night by tapping in a power-play feed from Pavel Zacha at 8:18 of the third to give Boston its first lead. Matthew Poitras added insurance on a 2-on-1 rush set up by James Hagens, and Zacha and Hagens each finished with two assists.

Boston went 3-for-4 on the power play after entering the night just 3-for-18 on the season, and snapped Anaheim's streak of 11 consecutive successful penalty kills.

DiPietro's First NHL Win

The comeback never happens without goaltender Michael DiPietro. The 27-year-old stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn the first regular-season NHL victory of his career in his fourth NHL start -- his second start of the season after opening-night struggles against Minnesota.

Head coach Marco Sturm didn't hesitate to single him out afterward. "Everyone is so happy for him right now. He just played outstanding," Sturm said, via NESN's Bridgette Proulx. "He was probably the biggest factor why we won today."

Sturm credited patience for the turnaround: "They came out pretty hard. They had a lot of juice the first half of the game. But also knowing, as a young team, it's tough to keep that tempo up for 60 minutes, and I was just hoping that they were going to slow down, and I think that's what happened."

What's Next: Back-to-Back in Los Angeles

Boston wraps up its California swing with a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, with Jeremy Swayman expected to get the start in net, per The Hockey News. The Bruins have now won four straight after Friday's rally, and their once-struggling power play has a chance to build on its best night of the season.

Sources: Reuters/Field Level Media, NHL.com, NESN, The Sporting Tribune, The Hockey News.