Bruins 4, Coyotes 1
Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron each scored his 18th goal to remain tied for the team lead and added an assist as host Boston skated to its third win in four contests.
Milan Lucic and captain Zdeno Chara also scored and set up a tally for the Bruins, who have won six in a row versus Arizona and remained four points ahead of Florida for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Reilly Smith notched two assists and Tuukka Rask finished with 31 saves in his return from a one-game absence due to an illness.
Martin Erat tallied for the reeling Coyotes, who have dropped nine in a row - one shy of the franchise-record 10-game skid set from Feb. 6-25, 1994 while playing in Winnipeg. Mike Smith yielded four goals on 20 shots before being relieved by Louis Domingue, who stopped all 14 shots he faced.
Boston got the early jump as the puck hopped over the stick of Mike Smith, allowing Lucic to bank it off his right skate and into the net at 2:40 of the first period. Marchand deposited Reilly Smith's circle-to-circle pass over the glove of the Arizona netminder 11 1/2 minutes later before Bergeron's backhand shot from deep in the left faceoff circle caromed off the skate of Coyotes defenseman - and Boston native - Keith Yandle at 3:02 of the second.
Chara's blast from the upper edge of the right circle during a power play overpowered Mike Smith at 11:50 to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. Rask saw his bid for his 26th career shutout come to a halt at 10:21 of the third as captain Shane Doan's shot from along the right-wing boards was deflected home by Erat.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Antoine Vermette registered a minus-1 rating in his final game with the Coyotes, who traded the center to Chicago after the contest for D Klas Dahlbeck and a first-round pick in this year's draft. ... Marchand scored twice and Reilly Smith notched two assists in Boston's 5-2 victory over Arizona on Dec. 6. ... Coyotes C Mark Arcobello registered one shot on goal and won 8-of-16 faceoffs while playing in his 100th career game. ... Bruins RW David Pastrnak and C Ryan Spooner - both rookies - each recorded an assist.