Pastrnak, Bruins beat Blackhawks in Winter Classic at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist, Tuukka Rask made 36 saves and the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Tuesday in the Winter Classic at Notre Dame.
Patrice Bergeron, Sean Kuraly and Brad Marchand also scored as Boston won for the second time in three appearances in the NHL’s annual outdoor game on New Year’s Day. The Bruins went 2 for 5 with the man advantage and killed off each of the Blackhawks’ four power plays.
The game was tied at 2 when Boston (22-14-4) caught a break in the third period — a little luck at the home of the Fighting Irish. Matt Grzelcyk’s big slap shot went off teammate Chris Wagner in front, but Kuraly beat Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling to the rebound and backhanded the puck past Cam Ward at 10:20.
Backed by most of the sellout crowd of 76,126 in perfect conditions for outdoor hockey — the game-time temperature was 35.5 degrees, and a gray, overcast sky took the sun out of the equation — Chicago (15-21-6) pushed hard for the tying score in the closing minutes, but came up empty.
Jonathan Toews sent a shot off the post after the Blackhawks pulled Ward for an extra attacker with about 1:30 left. Marchand then added an empty-netter for his 13th of the season.
Chicago had won five of six, but it remained winless in an NHL-high fourth appearance in the Winter Classic. It also dropped to 1-5 in six outdoor games — also tops in the league.
Brendan Perlini and Dominik Kahun scored for the Blackhawks, and Ward made 32 stops.
Chicago jumped in front when it scored first for the sixth straight game. David Kampf dug the puck out from behind the net and found a wideopen Perlini in the slot 8:30 into the first.
It was Perlini’s third goal in his past eight games. He had two goals in 22 games with Arizona before he was traded to Chicago on Nov. 25.
Pastrnak responded with his team-best 24th goal at 12:38. With Artem Anisimov in the penalty box for tripping, Pastrnak got free in front and slid the puck past Ward. He then celebrated by flapping his arms like a bird.
The teams exchanged goals again in the second. Kahun scored his fifth of the season when he redirected Erik Gustafsson’s shot by Rask, but Bergeron tied it at 2 when he scored another power-play goal with 1:12 left in the period.
The Bruins will open a four-game homestand Thursday night against Calgary (24-12-4). The Blackhawks will visit the New York Islanders (21-13-4).
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Tuesday during the second intermission of the Winter Classic the Dallas Stars will host the 12th edition of the league’s annual outdoor game on New Years’s Day at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. He said the league has not decided on the Stars’ opponent.
Bettman also announced the Heritage Classic will return on Oct. 26 when the Winnipeg Jets play the Calgary Flames at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. The NHL also will play outdoors at Air Force Academy on Feb. 15, 2020, as part of the Stadium Series, but it has not finalized the opponent for the Colorado Avalanche.
It will be the second outdoor NHL game played in Colorado. The Avalanche hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Denver’s Coors Field on Feb. 27, 2016.
St. Louis will host the NHL All-Star festivities from Jan. 24-26, 2020.