BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored twice, moving within one goal of the NHL lead, and Linus Ullmark stopped 30 shots on Monday to lead the Boston Bruins to their fourth straight victory, 3-1 over the Ottawa Senators.
Pastrnak broke a second-period tie to pass the 40-goal plateau for the third time in his career, and then added another goal in the third for No. 41. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid leads the league with 42 goals so far this season.
Jake DeBrusk also scored for Boston — the second straight time he has opened the scoring in two games since returning from an injury.
Claude Giroux scored and Kevin Mandolese stopped 29 shots for the Senators, who were playing back-to-back games after beating St. Louis on Sunday.
Playing in only his second game since the Jan. 2 Winter Classic, DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the first. Giroux tied it for Ottawa with 30 seconds left in the period.
It remained that way until the Bruins had two good scoring chances late in the second.
The first came when Pavel Zacha went crashing into Mandolese and he lost control of the puck. A review showed that it never crossed the goal line. But on the ensuing faceoff, Charlie McAvoy found Pastrnak to the goalie’s left and he sent the puck high into the corner of the net.
Midway through the third period, Pastrnak drifted down the ice while his teammates fought to gain control in their own zone. Finally, McAvoy chipped the puck free and it made it to Pastrnak, who had a 20-foot lead on the nearest defender.
He skated in on Mandolese, switched to his backhand at the last minute and then slid it through the goalie’s pads.
KREJCI’S THOUSAND-GAME MOMENT
The Bruins honored forward David Krejci before the opening faceoff for playing in his 1,000th game.
Krejci, who hit the milestone on Jan. 16, has played his entire 16-year career in Boston. The ceremony featured a video with tributes from current and former teammates including Zdeno Chara and Jaromir Jagr to Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak.
Krejci’s family joined him on the ice when he was given a silver engraved stick, a watch, a painting and a Tiffany crystal from the NHL, which was presented by Hall of Famer John Bucyk.
ANTHEM ISSUES
Bruins anthem singer Todd Angilly had to do a restart before the game when he began with the U.S. national anthem for the game against Ottawa.
With the Canadian flag shown on the scoreboard, Angilly belted out his usual “O say can you see …” before realizing that the organ was playing a different song. He stopped and then went into “O, Canada” and followed it with “The Star-Spangled Banner” without further difficulty.
He smiled and gave the fans a wave before leaving the ice.
Angilly became a fan favorite during the Bruins’ 2019 to the Stanley Cup Final by singing the anthem as a side gig as a bartender in one of the TD Garden clubs. After singing the anthem – or anthems – he returns to serve drinks.
