Bruins beat Kraken for 5th straight victory

With Zdeno Chara's No. 33 officially hanging form the TD Garden rafters, the Bruins began their night with a bang with two goals on two shots, with tallies from Marat Khusnutdinov and Viktor Arvidsson in a span of 2:51.

But it was Boston's third goal, a shorthanded tally from Mark Kastelic in the middle frame, that proved to make the difference in a 4-2 win over the Kraken.

The Kastelic goal, which came at the 4:40 mark of the middle frame, was the first shorthanded goal of Kastelic's career. It also set a new single-season, career-high for the gritty fourth-line forward, with eight goals through 48 games played.

Seattle, meanwhile, did their damage against the Bruins in this one on the man advantage. Chandler Stephenson scored the first Kraken goal of the evening just five seconds into their first power-play opportunity of the night, while an Eeli Tolvanen power-play strike in the second period brought Seattle within one.

But the Kraken struggled mightily to get anything by Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman when the sides were even, with Swayman stopping all 18 shots faced at even-strength play, and 26 of 28 shots in total by the night's end.

The Bruins did have to finish this game down a defenseman, though, as the club lost Andrew Peeke to a lower-body injury after the first period of play. If Peeke's absence extends beyond Thursday, Vladislav Kolyachonok would be the next man up for the Bruins, unless Hampus Lindholm gets out of the no-contact red practice sweater and is deemed ready to go between now and the Black and Gold's next game.

The good news, though, is that the Bruins do not expect Peeke's absence to be a lengthy one, if it's an absence at all. After the game, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said that Peeke would skate on Friday and will travel for Boston's two-game road trip.

The Bruins get back to work Saturday night in Chicago against the Blackhawks.