FINAL: Bruins 6, Senators 2 - Pastrnak hat trick helps power Bruins to win

The Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-2 at TD Garden on Tuesday night behind David Pastrnak's hat trick.

I though that the Bruins came out slow in the first as they were getting outshot 4-1 at one point early on and then 23-8 in the second period alone. There were times early on in the first period where the Senators where getting good looks in the Boston zone. However, Linus Ullmark was outstanding tonight standing on his head and finishing with 30 saves in net. Also, once the Bruins found their passing game they looked a lot better. 

If there was any concern tonight it would easily have to be the fact that Boston continued to struggle with closing out periods. They were up 3-1 towards the end of the second period and gave up a goal to Brady Tkkachuk with only a few second left on the clock. There is always concern when the Bruins have a three goal cushion in the third that they might blow it, but they were able to take care of business with a third goal from Pastrnak as well as Jesper Boqvist and Justin Brazeau getting in on the scoring action.

 While it was an Ottawa team that will not make the playoffs, you'll take the points as at this point in the season you are trying to accumulate as many points as you can to build a comfortable lead in first place in the standings. The Bruins now sit three points ahead in first place of Florida and the Rangers (97). 

The Bruins will be back in action on Thursday night when they welcome the New York Rangers in for an Original Six matchup at 7 p.m. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Linus Ullmark was outstanding tonight saving the Bruins in so many ways. He continues to show that the Bruins made the right move not moving on from him because as I have said before, the goalie duo of Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman is what keeps this team going.
• Boston has now won four straight games. 
• David Pastrnak finished tonight with his 17th  regular season hat trick and has 44 goals on the season. While he gets criticism here and there, you would have to admit he was outstanding tonight and was one of the main reasons for their win. 

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

3.  Linus Ullmark (30 saves)

2. Kevin Shattenkirk (Three assists)

1. David Pastrnak (Three goals)

___________________________________

WHO: Senators (28-34-4) at Bruins (40-14-15)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston. 
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE
ROSTERS

PROJECTED LINES
BOSTON
Marchand-Coyle-DeBrusk
Heinen-Zacha-Pastrnak
Lauko-Geekie-Frederic
Beecher-Boqvist-Brazeau
Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Lindholm-Carlo
Shattenkirk-Peeke
Ullmark
Swayman

SENATORS
Tkachuk-Pinto-Batherson
Joseph-Stutzle-Giroux
Greig-Ostapchuk-Kubalik
Katchouk-Kastelic-Kelly
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Brannstrom
Chychrun-Bernard-Docker
Korpisalo
Forsberg 

PREGAME NOTES
The Bruins welcome the Ottawa Senators to TD Garden tonight at 7 p.m. Boston looks to extend their win streak to three after they retook possession of first place in the NHL standings on Saturday night (95 points, one point ahead of the Rangers and Panthers). “For us, the plan all along was when we hit March, our focus is starting to get ready for the playoffs,” Jim Montgomery told reporters this morning. “I think mentally we're getting there. I don't think we're executing on ice yet like that. But you're still dealing with the rigors of the regular season – not using that as an excuse – but you see every team in the league is dropping games or winning games that, probably, they shouldn't because of their play," Montgomery continued. 

Kevin Shattenkirk will return to the lineup after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch. Danton Heinen will play once again alongside  the left wing with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. James Van Riemsdyk stayed out late at the morning skate with Parker Wotherspoon and Mason Lohrei, which means he could be a healthy scratch tonight. Pat Maroon remains week-to-week and will not play this week for the Bruins as he continues to recover from back surgery. 

Boston faces an Ottawa team that is coming off a 7-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday night, ending a three-game winning streak. A big strength of the Senators before their loss on Sunday was their goaltending duo led by Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, who own a combined split of 0.937% save percentage and helped lead the team to a 3-1-0record between March 9th and 16th. The Bruins won the last time these two teams met back in Ottawa on January 25th thanks to a Brad Marchand overtime-winning goal. Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 64 points in 66 games this season and Brady Tkachuk paces Ottawa with 30 goals this season.