ANAHEIM — Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves for the Boston Bruins in their fourth straight win, 3-0 against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Friday.
Noel Acciari, Jake DeBrusk and Chris Wagner scored, and Sean Kuraly had two assists for the Bruins (33-17-8), who are 6-0-1 in February and five points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division.
It was Halak’s fourth shutout of the season and his 46th in the NHL. He was coming off a 35-save performance in a 2-1 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
[WATCH: All Bruins vs. Ducks highlights]
“You play well, keep the net clear, and the goalie’s going to look good,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Kevin Boyle made 26 saves for the Ducks (22-27-9) two days after getting a shutout against the Vancouver Canucks in his first NHL start. Anaheim is 1-8-0 in its past nine games and 3-16-4 since Dec. 18.
The Ducks, who are seven points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, have combined for one goal in two games since general manager Bob Murray fired Randy Carlyle and took over as interim coach Sunday.
“I think it was a pretty even hockey game,” Murray said. “They buried their chances, and we didn’t bury ours.”
Video: BOS@ANA: DeBrusk tallies in front after Krejci’s move
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead on Acciari’s second goal of the season at 5:31 of the first period. Defenseman Brandon Carlo took a slap shot from just above the left face-off circle that Acciari tipped from just in front of the crease.
“It was a great shot,” Acciari said. “I was in the right place at the right time. We thrive on getting pucks back and getting to the net. So it was nice to get rewarded.”
The Bruins went on the first power play of the game when Rickard Rakell was called for holding Patrice Bergeron at 4:58 of the second period, and DeBrusk scored nine seconds later for a 2-0 lead.
David Krejci skated the puck toward the Anaheim net as Boyle came toward him, then stick-handled around Boyle before the puck slid off his blade and into the crease, where DeBrusk tapped it across the goal line at 5:07 for his second goal in two games.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve had a little bit of a streak,” he said. “Two games isn’t really much, but it’s just nice to help the team out on the road against Anaheim.”
The Ducks had back-to-back power plays in the second, but they didn’t have a shot on goal on the first and Halak made four saves on the second.
“Our power play has to execute better,” Murray said. “They have to work harder to get the puck back after they get a chance. It’s just one and out. That’s not good enough.”
Wagner scored into an empty net with 1:31 left to make it 3-0, securing the win in the first of a season-long five-game road trip for Boston.
“It’s obviously something that you focus on that you want to do, start on the right foot,” DeBrusk said. “Tonight was a pretty good game for us. Obviously, we got the win and certain guys stepped up big for us. It was a team effort, so it was just nice to be a part of that.”
Video: Halak earns Friday’s Pepsi Zero Sugar Shutout
They said it
“You want to get the first one, I think everyone would tell you that when you head out on the road. You kind of then want it to snowball into the next one. That’s usually the way it works. I hope (Saturday at the Los Angeles Kings) we can build off it, not be satisfied, but again, let’s take it one at a time.” — Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on their five-game road trip
“I thought the team played very well. Again, tonight, they stuck with the system, so we didn’t give up a lot, which was good. We’ve got to create something around their net. We’ve got to do more around their net so their goalie doesn’t see the puck.” — Ducks coach Bob Murray
Need to know
Halak is the first goalie since Byron Dafoe in 1997-98 to have at least four shutouts in his first season with the Bruins. … Boston had not won in Anaheim since a 3-2 victory March 25, 2012. … The Ducks, at 19-11-6 against the Bruins, are one of four teams with a winning record against Boston. The Canadiens, Wild and Detroit Red Wings are the others. … Carlo’s assist was his first point in 26 games dating to Dec. 14, when he scored against the Pittsburgh Penguins. … Kuraly’s first assist was his first point in 10 games dating to Jan. 17, when he scored against the St. Louis Blues. … Wagner was selected by the Ducks in the fifth round (No. 122) of the 2010 NHL Draft. He had two stints in Anaheim before he was traded to the New York Islanders on Feb. 26, 2018, for forward Jason Chimera. … The Ducks have been held to one goal or fewer 22 times this season.
What’s next
Bruins: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, NESN, NHL.TV)
Ducks: Host the Washington Capitals on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, PRIME, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
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