Pastrnak has three points, Bruins top Ducks

BOSTON --David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists, and the Boston Bruins ended their nine-game losing streak against the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-1 win at TD Garden on Thursday.

Torey Krug had a goal and an assist, Brad Marchand had two assists and Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves for Boston (19-12-4), which hadn't defeated the Ducks since Oct. 31, 2013 (0-8-1).
The Bruins are 5-2-0 in their past seven games and have outscored their opponents 7-1 in their past two.
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Bruins highlights]
"In general, I think the last two games we really worked hard for our goaltender to limit the chances," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "There's always going to be a breakdown here or there where you need the big saves. We got that in the second period, I think on the PK. So good for [Halak]. But yes, defensively we seem to have found our stride."

Josh Mahura scored his first NHL goal, and John Gibson made 28 saves for Anaheim (19-13-5), which has lost two straight.
"It just seemed like we didn't have the same intensity that we've shown over those stretches of games where we've won (9-3-0 past 12 games)," Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano said. "I think there's no excuse really. I think we're a couple of games away from the Christmas break and you have to find it. These are times you got to push through whatever you want to call it to get the wins and then get yourself a break after that. So there's no excuses. I think we've let a couple games here go and it's unfortunate because we had something really good going."
Pastrnak scored a power-play goal on one-timer from just below the left face-off dot off a cross-ice pass from Krug at 8:19 of the second period to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
Krug scored off a cross-ice pass from Marchand on a power play to make it 2-0 at 18:05.

"It was one of those things where if we stuck to the game plan, I thought we were eventually going to score," Krug said. "Obviously, we got two on power plays, but you just stick with it, grind away and eventually you get rewarded. So that's what we did."
David Krejci extended the lead to 3-0 at 5:21 of the third period. After Marchand lost the puck, Pastrnak recovered it, skated back toward the top of the circle and fed Krejci for a one-timer from the top of the right circle.
"Yeah, I was looking for a one-timer, I was coming late," said Krejci, whose goal was his 600th NHL point. "[Pastrnak] put it right in my wheelhouse. Sometimes you've got to get lucky because it was a long-range shot, but I was obviously happy I made it. It was a big goal for our team to score."
Mahura cut it to 3-1 at 15:44, scoring five-hole on a shot from the left point.

They said it

"We're trying to keep it positive on the bench and in the locker room at intermission, trying to get it going. Obviously, we know things haven't gone our way the last two games. We haven't played as well as we're used to in a little bit of a stretch here, so we're still trying to keep it positive, trying to keep a good attitude in practice and make sure we get out of this as quick as we can." -- Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg
"Well listen, it's a team game, but individually, these players obviously enjoy having certain levels of success. And if the individuals are having success, it breeds team success and vice versa. So I'm happy for all those guys. [David Krejci] and [Torey] Krug have been great Bruins for a number of years. [David] Backes not as long as those guys, but great NHL player for a long time. And it's nice to see them healthy." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on each reaching career milestone

Need to know

Anaheim had won its past four games in Boston. ... Krejci extended his point streak to eight games (five goals, six assists). ... Krug's assist was the 200th of his NHL career, the most by a U.S.-born Bruins player. ... Bruins forward David Backes' assist on Pastrnak's goal was his 300th in the NHL.

What's next

Ducks:At the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Bruins:Host the Nashville Predators on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, SN1, NESN, FS-TN, NHL.TV)