Recap: Pastrnak, Frederic lead Bruins to 5-1 win over Avalanche

Dec 4, 2022 - 5:29 AM

The Boston Bruins soared to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche as David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic each netted two goals apiece tonight at the TD Garden.

The Bruins outshot the Avalanche, 40-25, dominating the second and third periods with offensive steam.

Linus Ullmark made 24 saves in the win.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

The Bruins opened the scoring at 13:49 of the first period on the power play.

Brad Marchand found Pastrnak set up inside the left-wing circle for a one-timer past Pavel Francouz. 1-0 Bruins.

The Bruins took a two-goal lead at 18:51 of the first period.

Charlie Coyle left a pass at the blue line that Charlie McAvoy picked up and skated to the slot. McAvoy then backhanded a pass to Frederic at the doorstop to put a shot low past Francouz’s left skate. 2-0 Bruins.

Second period:

The Bruins extended their lead at 4:48 of the third period.

David Krejci sent Pastrnak on a breakaway where he went top-shelf over Francouz for his second goal of the night. 3-0 Bruins.

Third period:

The Avalanche cut into their deficit at 6:32 of the third period.

As McAvoy and Nick Foligno bumped into each other out front, Andrew Cogliano picked up a loose puck in the slot to put a quick shot over Ullmark’s blocker. 3-1 game.

The Bruins regained a three-goal lead at 15:32 of the third period on Frederic’s second goal of the night.

At center ice, Coyle backhanded a pass to Frederic who then did a short give-and-go with Taylor Hall to receive the puck back and fire a one-timer top-shelf over Francouz’s blocker from inside the right-wing circle. 4-1 Bruins.

The Bruins scored 10 seconds later at 15:42 of the third period to cushion their lead.

Crashing the net, Jake DeBrusk found the rebound from Derek Forbort’s shot to make the final score, 5-1 Bruins.

Game notes:

• The Bruins dominated tonight, especially once they took the lead. In the second period, they outshot the Avalanche 15-4. Colorado’s roster is depleted, as injuries are running rampant for them, but the Bruins still controlled the puck better tonight than the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
• And with the win, the Bruins not only extended the home streak to 14-0-0 but have matched the record of fewest games to get to 20 wins — which is at 23 games.
• Besides the dominant offensive the Bruins put on, the game had a little bit of everything to make it exciting. Foligno led that off after taking a hit from Andreas Englund along the center ice boards that he was not happy about. Foligno dropped the gloves on Englund and it gained some needed momentum at that point in the first period.
• His linemate also had his own excitement, as Tomas Nosek drew a penalty shot when he was tripped up on a breakaway that Matt Grzelcyk sent him on (also the Bruins’ second breakaway of the game). He made a good effort on it, but couldn’t add another tally.
• Frederic shot and scored. And then shot and scored again — two goals on both of shots on goal for the game. Frederic’s two-goal game was the first of his career. Head Coach Jim Montgomery talked about Frederic’s progression this season and his handling of the puck to hold onto it longer and make plays instead of throwing it away.
• There were eight power-play chances between the two teams. The Bruins scored the only power-play goal of the night.
• Marchand had arguably his best 5v5 game, even though the point he recorded tonight was another from the man-advantage. He won battles down low in the offensive zone and exploded through the slot with speed and opportunities. In the neutral zone, he had strong board work and quick hands to advance plays. And obviously on the power play he perfectly hit Pastrnak with that feed.
• DeBrusk registered his 100th career goal tonight. There was a chance for him to hit that milestone earlier in the game, as a goal was under review. The refs ultimately saw that the goal in question was no good because the net came off the post. But it didn’t matter because DeBrusk added excitement with the Bruins’ fifth goal that came just 10 seconds after Frederic’s third-period goal. He now has three goals and three assists in his last seven games. He’s also close to two other milestones — DeBrusk is at 93 assists and 193 points.
• The Bruins are off tomorrow before hosting Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.