Pastrnak, Grzelcyk each scores twice, Bruins defeat Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- David Pastrnak and Matt Grzelcyk each scored two goals, and the Boston Bruins extended their point streak to five games with a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Connor Clifton scored, Brad Marchand had three assists and Tuukka Rask made 25 saves for Boston (13-3-5), which is 2-0-3 in its past five games.
David Krejci replaced Patrice Bergeron on the Bruins top line alongside Marchand and Pastrnak and had two assists. Bergeron missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury.
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Devils highlights]
"It's always nice to get a chance to play with those two guys," Krejci said. "Those guys are two of the best players in the world, so they definitely make it easy on me."
The Marchand-Krejci-Pastrnak line totaled seven points (two goals, five assists).
Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for New Jerseys (7-9-4), which was denied a third straight win.
"It's one thing if we had some bad bounces or ran into a hot goalie, but tonight was controllable mistakes, unforced errors and that's on us," Devils captain Andy Greene said. "It's about working hard with structure and playing the right way."
The Bruins are 8-1-0 in their past nine games against the Devils, including four straight wins at Prudential Center.
"I thought we played fairly stingy and when we had a chance to extend the lead on the power play, we simplified, got it to the net and took advantage of our opportunities," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I thought we did a good job limiting them."
Pastrnak, who leads the NHL with 19 goals, scored his second of the game off a slap shot from the right point on the power play to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead at 3:19 of the third period.

"I've had [Pastrnak] ever since he turned pro ... you see a kid that's happy to come to the rink every day and who cares and puts a lot of value in not just goal scoring and making plays, but winning and losing," Cassidy said. "He hates to lose, and his all-around growth is more about his love of the game.
"He's always in a great mood and got some personality, but he also brings that to practice and games and you need that."
Grzelcyk scored his second goal at 10:33 of the third for a 4-1 lead. Clifton, who was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, made is 5-1 at 13:42.
Blake Coleman pulled the Devils within 2-1 at 18:11 of the second period on a backhand from the slot.
"We weren't hungry enough and were flat," Coleman said. "It's no excuse. We talked ad nauseam how important this game was, and we wanted to get some traction as a team. There's no excuse to lay that egg."
Grzelcyk scored from the left face-off circle on a snap shot that hit the far post and past Blackwood to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 14:26 of the first period. Pastrnak scored on a slap shot from the left circle 14 seconds later to make it 2-0 at 14:40.

They said it

"What's made us a better team the past couple of years is internal competition. When Torey Krug (upper body) returns from injury, he's thinking, 'I don't want to lose my spot since Grzelcyk is now going,' so it pushes the next guy, and you need that to be a successful organization. That's why we survive when we get injuries. It's about the next guy who wants to go in and wants to play well." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
"It's the same story we've been talking about all week, taking one or two steps forward and then taking one back. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury with the start we had and [we] need to string some wins together. We put out that effort and we're not going to win very many games." -- Devils forward Blake Coleman

Need to know

It was the first multigoal game of Grzelcyk's NHL career. … Cassidy said he "suspects" Bergeron will play against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. ... Krecji has six assists in a four-game point streak; Marchand has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past five games. ... The Devils assigned goalie Cory Schneider to Binghamton of the American Hockey League after he cleared waivers Tuesday. ... Coleman played in his 200th NHL game and has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. ... Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen returned after missing the past four games because of an upper-body injury.

What's next

Bruins: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, TVAS, NESN, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, MSG+, NHL.TV)