The Bruins crushed the Penguins on Thursday night. And Pittsburgh has quietly become one of Pavel Zacha’s favorite teams to play against.
Flashback to Mar. 8, 2026, when Zacha scored his second career hat trick against the Penguins. Despite Boston falling short 5-4 in that game, Zacha showed how effective he could be against Pittsburgh.
Fast-forward to Thursday night, and Zacha contributed two goals in Boston’s 6-2 victory. After the Bruins fell behind 1-0 thanks to a goal from Justin Brazeau at the 9:04 mark of the first period, Zacha and Co. answered at 12:07.
David Pastrnak took a loose puck in the offensive zone and dished it under a diving Penguins player. He found Zacha in front of the crease, who drove it home to tie the game. It was one of those chaotic plays that required a second effort, and it paid off for the Bruins. JJ Peterka got credited with the secondary assist.
The Bruins then broke out to a 3-1 lead following the first period, but Pittsburgh’s Nick Robertson scored and cut the deficit to one goal. Zacha, though, had an answer for Robertson and the Penguins at 14:24 of the second period.
This one started in Boston’s zone when they forced Pittsburgh to turn the puck over. Pastrnak got the puck on his stick, and he bank-passed it off the boards.
Peterka collected the puck and raced down the ice. He drew two Penguins players inward, then found Zacha, who had a step on another Penguins player. Zacha quickly fired the puck into the net to give Boston another two-goal lead.
Zacha Has Been The Bruins’ Hot Hand Against The Penguins
It was no surprise to see that Zacha ended the game as the Bruins’ first star. Just as in the Mar. 8 game, Boston found itself on the road against a team that played well at home. They faced an early one-goal deficit, showed that they weren’t going to panic, and made sure the puck landed on one of their best scorers’ sticks.
While Pastrnak has been all-world and usually the go-to, some players are just extraordinary against specific teams. In Zacha’s case, that is now two games in a row in which he has had Pittsburgh’s number.
Boston and Pittsburgh, ironically, won’t meet again until March, when they play two games in five days — Mar. 6 and Mar. 11. Chances are, the Bruins will once again call Zacha’s number. If the Penguins again fail to account for him, he could make them pay dividends.
Pavel Zacha Could Get On Pace For Another Career Year
Zacha ended the 2025-26 season with 65 points and 30 goals. He now has 12 points and five goals in 16 games, following his epic outing against the Penguins.
That puts him on pace to land 26 goals and 63 points. That doesn’t put him on track to beat last season’s totals. But Zacha also has five points and three goals in his last five games. Therefore, he could be heating up.
Should Zacha continue producing at the same point-per-game pace that he has over the past five games, he could easily find himself on pace for another career season. Two more epic outings against the Penguins in Mar. 2027 would help.
Bruins’ Pavel Zacha Continues Incredible Scoring Trend Against Penguins