BOSTON – The Bruins put together a full 60-minute effort and picked up another crucial two points as the playoff push enters the home stretch. 

The Boston Bruins (41-24-8) beat the Minnesota Wild (41-21-12), 6-3, at the TD Garden on Saturday. Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm both scored two goals, Andrew Peeke opened the scoring just 61 seconds in, and Viktor Arvidsson scored his 21st of the season. Jeremy Swayman also made 32 saves.

“Felt good for 60 minutes. Felt good. Our first shift, right away. Our guys did a really good job,” Marco Sturm said after the game. “Stuff we talked about starting yesterday, today at pre-scout. So then they delivered right away.” 

“Every line brought something to the table, that could be a fight, could be assists, could be goals, whatever it is. [Swayman] in net, outstanding again. So that’s who we are, and that’s what I like the most.”

The second line factored into three of the team’s six goals, with Pavel Zacha scoring his team-leading 10th and 11th goals since the Olympic break. Viktor Arvidsson scored his seventh in that same span. 

“I just think, you know, [Arvidsson] and Casey [Mittelstadt] are looking for me there, a lot,” Zacha said. “They made a great two passes today, even Casey, the shot, he saw me net-front alone, and he fired the puck there. Those are the things that start to click more and more every game and, you know, as long as we can help the team win games, score a couple of goals as a line, it’s going to be a success.” 

Casey Mittelstadt finished with three assists, helping out on both of Zacha’s goals as well as Elias Lindholm’s empty net goal. 

“It’s the combination again,” Sturm said. “And when you talk about entries, I think that’s what they bring. And they actually switch it up, too. But now they know each other. I think that’s the one thing they’re good at now. They just, they’re comfortable. They talk a lot. And also, they know where everyone is at any point of the game.” 

The second line has been on the ice for 36 goals for this season and 16 against for a plus-20 goal differential, according to MoneyPuck. 

Elias Lindholm scored twice, with the first set up by linemate Lukas Reichel. He now has five points in the last four games after posting three in the first 12 games back from the Olympic break. 

“For me, the pressure is off one line,” Sturm said about the line changes. “I really like [Lindholm]’s line. All of a sudden, he comes more to shine, too. I think Lukas does an excellent job, maybe not on the scoresheet, but he creates a lot of room for them. So it’s time to breathe. And it’s not just dump and chase. They’re keeping pucks, and they’re comfortable.”

At times, he played David Pastrnak with Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm. The line played 2:06 together on Saturday, per Natural Stat Trick. 

“I’m very comfortable where we [are] at right now,” Sturm added. “We are in a playoff race right now, and guys seem like being in a good spot and being in good lines. I’m not going to look forward [to] whatever is going to happen, maybe next week or in two weeks. That’s the way I think is going to give us success right now, and I’m going to stick with it until I feel like it needs to change.”

The playoff race is in full swing, and the Eastern Conference is only heating up. 

“You can look at the standings. That’s going to make you focus up and dialed in,” Pastrnak said. “Every single play matters now, especially [as] the games keep coming and we’ll be getting to single-digit numbers now for the rest of the year. So we have to remain focused and make it hard for the other team, because when we play like that, and we try to frustrate the other team, usually most of the times we come up on the top. So just have to remain focused.”

David Pastrnak: “You can look at the standings. That’s going to make you focus up and dialed in. Every single play matters now, especially [as] the games keep coming and we’ll be getting to single-digit numbers now for the rest of the year. So we have to remain focused and make… pic.twitter.com/5ZMomFgUY7

— Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) March 29, 2026

The Bruins’ win, paired with some help in the Eastern Conference, helped their playoff odds. According to MoneyPuck, the Bruins now have an 83.1% chance at the postseason. 

They sit in the first wild card with 90 points, and the Blue Jackets (38-24-11) sit in the second wild card with 87. Those two teams meet on Sunday night in Ohio.

“Yeah, we have to win these games,” Zacha said after the game. “I think every game is important. Now we have back-to-back, big game tomorrow, so that’s something you have to refocus and just win as many as we can. We have good enough teams to make the playoffs. We just have to show it every night and win games.”

The Bruins have nine games left in the season. All but three of them are against playoff teams, and one of those teams is still fighting for a spot. 

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