Bruins vs. Flyers: Fraser Minten's Three-Point Day Keeps Philadelphia Winless

Jeremy Swayman could have brought a book. Through the first 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden, the Philadelphia Flyers managed three shots on goal, and Boston's goalie spent long stretches watching his teammates fire away at the other end.

The Boston Bruins turned that territorial beatdown into a 5-1 win over the winless Flyers, with Fraser Minten collecting a goal and two assists, JJ Peterka adding two helpers and five different Bruins finding the net. Philadelphia is now 0-4-2 and, per the AP, the only team in the Eastern Conference still looking for its first win.

Zacha Breaks the Seal, Boston Leans On

The opener took a while to arrive, but it was coming. At 12:21 of the first, David Pastrnak slipped a backhand pass to Pavel Zacha in the high slot, and Zacha's wrist shot knuckled toward Dan Vladar, who got a pad on it but could not stop it from trickling over the line. It was Zacha's first goal of the season, and Pastrnak picked up the lone assist.

"Every player wants to be a difference-maker every shift, so it felt good, going over the boards and knowing that we were going to create something every shift," Zacha said, per the NHL's recap.

The second period was more of the same. Boston outshot Philadelphia 19-3 over the first 30 minutes and led 22-8 in shots after two periods, according to the AP. Vladar kept it close for as long as he could, but at 17:12 the Bruins finally doubled the lead in transition. Swayman made a blocker save, Boston broke out 4-on-2, Minten kicked it to Peterka, and Peterka found Mason Lohrei joining the rush from the left circle. Lohrei beat Vladar for his second of the season. That assist was also the 200th point of Peterka's NHL career.

"Just trying to get up ice and be an option as the fourth guy," Lohrei said of his jump into the play.

The Turning Point: Minten Goes Behind the Net

Two goals is not a safe lead when the opponent is desperate, and Philadelphia had every reason to be. Boston erased that question 1:55 into the third. Minten fed Marat Khusnutdinov from behind the net, and Khusnutdinov drove it home from point-blank range for his first goal of the season. William Borgen got the other assist.

That 3-0 cushion mattered, because the Flyers finally got on the board less than five minutes later. Borgen went to the box for tripping at 6:16, and 16 seconds later Porter Martone ripped a wrist shot past Swayman on the power play for his first goal of the season. David Jiricek and Denver Barkey assisted, and Swayman's shutout bid was gone.

"It was that time of the game we needed something to click, and it was nice for one to go into the back of the net," Martone said.

Any momentum was short-lived. At 9:21, Casey Mittelstadt redirected an Elias Lindholm centering feed through Vladar's five-hole, with James Hagens adding the second assist, and it was 4-1. Minten capped it at 15:59 on a wrist shot set up by Peterka and Hampus Lindholm. The final few minutes got feisty, too: Minten and Martone each picked up a minor and a misconduct at 18:44.

Minten's Big Day and Swayman's Quiet One

Minten finished with a goal, two assists and a plus-3 in 14:25. The NHL notes the 22-year-old signed a seven-year contract with the Bruins on Sept. 8 that begins next season, and he is playing like a guy who wants to make that look like a bargain. "I feel fast and feel like I can make plays and contribute," he said. "I feel like my game is growing, for sure."

Zacha was a fan. "He's fun to watch and he has good potential," Zacha said.

Peterka had two assists, and per the NHL he became the third-fastest German-born player to reach 200 points, behind Tim Stutzle (229 games) and Leon Draisaitl (260 games). He now has 94 goals and 106 assists.

Swayman stopped 14 of 15 shots in his fifth start of Boston's first six games. Light work, sure, but it counts: the win was his 136th, tying Andy Moog for eighth on Boston's all-time list.

Vladar deserved better, stopping 27 of 32 shots while getting very little help in front of him. Martone, meanwhile, scored, threw two hits and did not hide from the reality of an 0-4-2 start.

"It's not like we're not trying," Martone said. "We need to start playing with some jam. We need to start playing with some edge. It feels like we're getting bullied out there and that's not the Flyers way and not how we want to play at all."

Stats That Matter

• 19-3: Boston's shot advantage over the first 30 minutes, per the AP.
• 32-15: The final shot count, with Philadelphia blocking 18 more.
• 5: Different Bruins who scored: Zacha, Lohrei, Khusnutdinov, Mittelstadt and Minten.
• 136: Swayman's career wins, tied with Moog for eighth in team history.
• 200: Career points for Peterka, reached on the Lohrei goal.

What It Means

Boston improves to 4-2-0 with eight points and has won two straight after a 6-1 rout of Utah on Thursday. The Bruins finished their three-game homestand 2-1-0, and per the NHL, Charlie McAvoy completed his six-game suspension and is expected to make his season debut on Tuesday in San Jose, the first stop of a four-game road trip. Adding the player the AP calls Boston's top defenseman to a team playing like this is a scary thought.

Philadelphia falls to 0-4-2 and is winless through six games, two days after a 2-1 loss at Ottawa. The Flyers were also without Travis Konecny and Cam York, both day to day, per the NHL. Coach Rick Tocchet did not sugarcoat it. "You've got to stick together," he said. "We're at the bottom. We're in the muck right now." The Flyers host Carolina on Sunday night.

Closing Take

This felt like a Netflix series where one side got the big budget and the other got a trailer. Zacha said every Boston line was creating chances, and the shot chart backs him up. Minten looked like the breakout star of the season's first chapter. Philadelphia, meanwhile, needs that jam Martone was talking about, and it needs it fast, because Carolina is next.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and game notes as reported by NHL.com.