Boston’s 6-1 win over Utah looked like a rout; beneath it was a night of special-teams whiplash and a goaltender under siege. David Pastrnak scored twice and added two assists, while Jeremy Swayman stopped 36 of 37 shots Thursday at TD Garden as the Bruins snapped a two-game skid.
The shift began before the Mammoth found an answer. Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring, then Pastrnak’s first goal of the season ended a Boston power play that had entered the night 0-for-10. Mason Lohrei followed, and three goals in a 5:45 span sent Utah starter Sebastian Cossa to the bench. Frederic Brunet set up Pastrnak for his first NHL point in his third game.
Boston’s man advantage kept rolling after the first intermission. Pastrnak’s second power-play goal made it 4-0, and he returned the favor by setting up Morgan Geekie’s first of the season. Matt Poitras added another before the second period ended, turning the score into 6-0. Pastrnak finished with four points, and Geekie had three.
Utah entered with the league’s most productive power play, converting eight of 13 chances, but Boston killed all seven opportunities. That reversal mattered: the Bruins’ penalty kill had been struggling, while their own power play had yet to score. Swayman supplied the other half of the turnaround, holding off a Mammoth attack that finished with a 37-22 edge in shots. Jack McBain scored Utah’s lone goal in the third, ending the shutout bid but not the result.
The win gives Boston a needed response, but the shot gap leaves a more interesting question than the final suggests. Did the Bruins find a lasting answer on special teams, or did Pastrnak’s eruption and Swayman’s 36 saves cover a game Utah often pushed? Their next test comes Saturday against Philadelphia.
