Four Unanswered Goals Give Bruins Come From Behind Win Over Ducks
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The Boston Bruins (6-2) picked up their sixth win of the season with a 4-2 come from behind victory over the Anaheim Ducks (4-3) on Friday night.
The Ducks, which rank second in the league in power-play percentage, got an early chance at the man advantage after Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov was called for tripping at 1:14 in the first period, however came up empty handed.
The game remained scoreless until the final minute of the period.
Anaheim got on the board 1-0 at 19:22 of the first after a deep shot by forward Tim Washe that got past Bruins goalie Michael DiPietro. Defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Tristan Luneau picked up assists on the score.
21 seconds later, the Ducks extended their lead 2-0 with a tip-in goal from forward Beckett Sennecke at 19:43 with help from forwards Nikita Nesterenko and Cutter Gauthier.
The pair of goals sent the Ducks into the first intermission with the 2-0 lead.
In the opening minutes of the second, the Bruins went onto the power play after Ducks defenseman Tyson Hinds was called for holding at 1:34.
The Bruins capitalized on the advantage and cut their deficit in half 2-1 on a goal from defenseman Frederic Brunet at 3:15, his first NHL goal. Brunet’s goal was set up by forward James Hagens who tallied an assist on the score alongside forward Pavel Zacha.
Prior to the score, Anaheim had a 90.5 penalty kill percentage which was the fourth-highest in the league.
Down the stretch of the second, the Ducks had two additional opportunities at the power play. The first came at 9:24 after Bruins defenseman Will Borgen headed into the box for tripping and the second at 19:00 after Zadorov was called for elbowing.
Zadorov’s penalty was one of a pair that he was given on the play. He was also hit with a minor roughing to give the Ducks back-to-back power play attempts.
The Bruins were able to kill off both penalties and the final 40 seconds were wiped away after Ducks forward Roger McQueen was called for interference at 2:22 in the third.
Once Boston got back to full strength and went onto the power play, forward David Pastrnak tied the game at 2 with his third goal of the season at 3:26 with help from Zacha and forward Elias Lindholm.
The score also gave Pastrnak sole possession of fourth place for Bruins all-time goals with 423, surpassing former Bruin Brad Marchand.
Minutes later, Anaheim forward Nikita Klepov went into the box for hooking at 7:34 and the Bruins took advantage again, this time from Elias Lindholm at 8:18 to give Boston its first lead of the night 3-2.
Elias Lindholm’s score was assisted by Zacha and forward Morgan Geekie.
Forward Matthew Poitras gave Boston some support with his third goal of the season at 16:20, assisted by Hagens, to extend the Bruins’ lead 4-2.
Poitras' goal also cemented the game for the Bruins as the Ducks were not able to score for the remainder of regulation.
Next up, the Bruins head to Los Angeles, Calif., to take on the Los Angeles Kings (0-3-2) on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 9 p.m. ET on NESN.
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Kim Rankin is a lead writer for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.
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