Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)

Pastrnak gets 40th goal in Bruins’ win

- By KEN POWTAK

David Pastrnak reached 40 goals for the third consecutiv­e season, and the Boston Bruins beat the fading Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Saturday.

Coming off a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Thursday, the Bruins posted consecutiv­e regulation wins for the first time since Jan. 20 and 22. They are fighting for the NHL’s top record a year after setting league records for victories (65) and overall points (135).

“I won’t take it for granted, obviously,” Pastrnak said of reaching 40 goals again. “It’s my job to score goals, but, at the same time, I play in the best league in the world, so I don’t take it for granted. It doesn’t mean anything to me right now, but I love scoring, so it makes me happy.”

Pavel Zacha had two goals and an assist for Boston, which has 91 points. Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 38 saves.

“He was our best player,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Ullmark. “It wasn’t close . ... Glad he’s still a Bruin.”

Ullmark was rumored to be on the trade block Friday.

“I’m just very happy to be here,” Ullmark said when asked if he utilized a no-trade clause in his contract. “This is the team that I want to be (with). I’m very fortunate to be a part of this group, and ever since Day 1 I’ve loved it here, so I’m very happy with where I am right now.”

Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh, and Alex Nedeljkovi­c stopped 17 shots. The Penguins have lost five of six games to drop into 13th place in the Eastern Conference, far behind the eighth and final playoff spot.

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