The Bruins kept the good vibes going Thursday night, polishing off a five-game homestand with their fifth consecutive win, 4-2, over the Kraken on Causeway Street.
After watching former captain Zdeno Chara hoist his No. 33 to the Garden rafters, the Bruins trimmed the Kraken on goals by Marat Khusnutdinov, Viktor Arvidsson, Mark Kastelic (shorthanded), and David Pastrnak, who provided an empty-netter with 14.1 seconds to go.
The win, backed by Jeremy Swayman’s 25 saves, lifted the Bruins to 27-19–2 and a .583 points percentage for the season. They are on pace to finish the regular season with 96 points, which typically would be enough to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Bruins lost defenseman Andrew Peeke to a lower-body injury in the first period, forcing them to play one man short on the back end for the rest of the night. The club offered no guidance on how soon Peeke might return to the lineup.
The Bruins will be in Chicago on Saturday night to open a two-game road trip that also includes a Tuesday visit to Dallas.
Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 rises to the rafters at TD Garden as Bruins honor retired captain
The Bruins scored twice in the first period, led by Khusnutdinov’s opener at the 0:54 mark, and ultimately carried a 3-2 lead into the third. They entered the final 20:00 confident, after going 21-0-1 this season when leading after two periods.
Khusnutdinov scored after breaking into the zone with a long lead pass from Charlie McAvoy. With a step on the Kraken defender, the fleet-footed Khusnutdinov raced on a diagonal path off left wing and finished with a backhand tuck near the right post. The goal was No. 10 for the winger acquired last March from the Wild at the trade deadline.
Less than three minutes later, at 3:45, Viktor Arvidsson connected for his 10th this season on a play that Pavel Zacha generated off the right wing. Zacha pulled up in his lane and dished across the slot, where Arvidsson unloaded with a shot that deflected in off a Kraken defender. The puck initially appeared to have gone in off linemate Casey Mittelstadt, but the goal was awarded to Arvidsson, who had 10 shots on net in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Detroit.
The Kraken got on the board at 7:29 of the opening period. Chandler Stephenson, after winning a faceoff to Swayman’s right, moved to the net front and deflected home a wrister that Jared McCann sailed in from the top of the right wing circle.
Kastelic, increasingly a key contributor on the Bruins’ penalty kill crew, scored his first career shorthander 4:40 into the second for a 3-1 lead. The hard-charging center/wing disrupted play high in the offensive zone and rushed in on Kraken goalie Joey Daccord to finish with a backhand tuck.
Kastelic set career highs with his eighth goal and 15th point.
The Kraken, who stung the Bruins with a 7-4 smackdown on Jan. 6 in Seattle, scored for the second time on the advantage at 12:27 of the second. Eeli Tolvanen tallied and the game went into the second intermission at 3-2.
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