Pastrnak had 4 points in the Bruins’ win over the Canucks

Pavel Zacha had a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 19 saves for the Bruins (16-13-3), who had lost their first two games of this five-game road trip by a combined score of 13-2. Boston improved to 8-4-0 since interim coach Joe Sacco replaced Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19.

Max Sasson scored his first NHL goal and Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for the Canucks (15-9-5), who have one win in their last four games (1-2-1).

Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead on the power play at 5:12 of the first period, lifting the puck high over Demko’s outstretched glove from the left edge of the goal crease after a nice cross pass from Elias Lindholm.

It was Marchand’s seventh point (five goals, two assists) during a six-game point streak and Lindholm’s first point in eight games.

Pastrnak found Morgan Geekie in the same spot with a crossing pass from behind the net, leaving a runaway Geekie with an open side of the net that made it 2-0 at 8:08.

Zacha scored on a breakaway 1:12 into the second period to make it 3-0, picking up a pass from Pastrnak just inside the blue line and beating Demko with a backhand-forehand move and a quick shot under the right ball. The assist was Pastrnak’s 400th in the NHL in his 706th game, making him the second-fastest Czech-born player to reach the milestone behind Jaromir Jagr (546 games).

Marc McLaughlin made it 4-0 at 11:49 with a shot well above the right faceoff circle after a lost ball that deflected off the back of defender Erik Brannstrom and went through Demko’s legs as he went for the shot.

Pastrnak scored 26 seconds into the third period when the teams were playing 4-on-4, cutting in alone down the right wing and bringing Demko to the ground outside his left post before making a turnaround with the goalie’s right skate for the 5th :0 scored.

Sasson, a rookie playing his 10th NHL game, made it 5-1 after a turnover from Lindholm and a pass from JT Miller that he quickly fired between Swayman’s pads from just inside the right faceoff dot at 10:13.