In Anaheim, it was a battle of the front-runners versus the Ducks on Sunday night.
This one was over early with the Boston Bruins taking a 2-1 lead in the first period and never looking back en route to a 7-1 win.
David Pastrnak hit for a hat trick in the win.
“I call him an artist because he’s so creative,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “He finds different ways to take you out of your seat when you’re watching him.”
Pastrnak and David Krejci staked the Bruins to a 2-0 lead before Trevor Zegras scored the Ducks; lone goal to make it 2-1 headed to the middle frame.
“We are all playing together,” Pastrnak said. “We’re playing well. We’re a heck of a team. Since the first game, every line is doing its part and we’re all playing well. Winning makes it way easier to have fun.”
Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves in the Bruins win.
Boston improved to 32-4-4.
“You can learn from them, really,” Anaheim forward Adam Henrique said of Boston. “The way they play, a veteran team in a tough back to back that seemed like a home game for them. There’s still lots to learn here.”
Pastrnak completed his hat trick in a 17-second span in the middle frame for a 4-1 advantage to the Bruins.
The Ducks dropped to 12-25-4.
“Through two periods, it’s 4-1 and we made maybe five mistakes and three of them ended up in our net,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “We can’t make those mistakes.”
Brad Marchand and former Ducks Hampus Lindholm scored in the third to give the Bruins a 6-1 lead.
“It was a different feeling, but happy with the two points and the process,” Lindholm said. “We were playing good on this road trip here, so it’s nice to go back home with a big win.”
Charlie Coyle scored for the 7-1 final.
“It was in the third we just unscrewed our brains,” Eakins said. “We tried to get cute. We let our foot off the pedal, and I think that shows elite teams don’t take their foot off the pedal just because they’re up.”
John Gibson made 35 saves in the Ducks loss.
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