The Bruins completed their four-game homestand Thursday night with an easy 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, finishing the homestand a perfect 4-0.

It was a stretch that saw the Bruins break out of their five-on-five woes, continue their excellent defensive play, and get production from all four lines.

On Thursday, it was the Bruins fourth line of Anders Bjork, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner paving the way to victory.

“They love it when they get us going," said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “They’re well-liked in the room and when those guys score, it always lifts the bench."

Both Kuraly and Wagner scored goals, while Bjork assisted on Kuraly’s first period strike.

Part of what made the line so effective on Thursday was Bjork putting forth his best effort of the season. After a slow start to the season, Bjork has fit in nicely on the fourth line and it’s starting to pay off. Bringing speed to the heaviness that Kuraly and Wagner bring has been the perfect recipe for success.

“We’ve been working to try and find that exact mix,” said Kuraly. “But [Bjork] got a lot of skill, and he’s got a ton of speed. So for both of us, it’s kind of been a little bit of a change. And I think we knew that if we can get it figured out, it would work well.”

Bjork showed a glimpse of his potential on Thursday, showing more confidence in his game, especially with the puck. He was making smart plays, helping the fourth line generate a buzz and providing the Bruins with a fourth line scoring threat.

“This year, I haven’t really been happy with my game. I think there’s been some holes in it in the first five or six games there,” said Bjork. “Trying to build up and learn from my teammates and the coaching staff and fix those things. My game is playing fast, playing with speed, moving my feet and creating things off that. That’s got to be my focus every night.”

Brad Marchand knows a thing or two about the importance of the job a fourth line can do. It wasn’t too long ago a young Marchand was navigating the learning curve of the NHL on the Bruins fourth line.

“The guys that tend to score get a lot of the recognition. But I think sometimes it just goes a little unnoticed or not maybe as appreciated as it should,” said Marchand.

“The guys that are out there and they work and they compete every single night, they’re the guys that you hate to play against. Our fourth line tonight was awesome. And they have been for a number of years now. At this level, you don’t win without a deep lineup.”

Of the Bruins four lines, the Kuraly line saw the most five-on-five ice time Thursday, logging 11:15. In that span, the Bruins outshot the Penguins 5-3, outscored them 2-0 and generated one high-danger scoring chance for while allowing none.

Since Cassidy’s arrival behind the Bruins bench, he’s always had confidence in the defensive role his fourth line plays, often throwing them out there against the other team’s top lines.

That was no different Thursday with the Kuraly line seeing a heavy dose of the Malkin line. In the 7:40 of five-on-five ice time that Kuraly and Malkin shared the ice together, shots were even at two apiece, with the Bruins earning one more scoring chance than the Penguins at 2-1.

“They’re typically against a good line,” Cassidy said of his fourth line trio.

“They don’t have it one night or get behind, then you got to put some offensive guys in those situations. Not necessarily saying trade chances, but you may have to live with that for a bit. But so far we’ve been in every game, not really many large deficits. So Sean’s line usually gets a lot of D-zone starts.”

Four of the 10 faceoffs the Kuraly line took on Thursday came in the D-zone.

Defensively as a whole, the Bruins continued their success on Thursday, holding the Penguins to just 13 five-on-five shots.

The Bruins have allowed 114 five-on-five shots through seven games to date, fourth fewest in the league. The three teams with less (Stars, Hurricanes and Panthers) have each only played four games due to COVID related issues.

If you break down five-on-five shots allowed per 60 minutes of play, the Bruins rank second behind the Dallas Stars, allowing 20.02 shots per 60 minutes.

“I think it’s (the team defense) been good all year. It’s the trademark of the team. Guys are buying in,” said Cassidy.

“Bringing in some young defensemen, they’ve been in the system. So they know the drill. They know the culture here. We’ve given them the opportunity to buy into it.”

Matt Grzelcyk returns, leaves with another injury

After missing the last two games with a lower-body injury, Matt Grzelcyk returned on Thursday. Grzelcyk picked up right where he left off, picking up an assist on Patrice Bergeron’s first of two goals.

However, he suffered another lower-body injury separate to the previous one. He did not come out of the dressing room for the third period.

"A different injury, a lower body. Tough start for [Grzelcyk] I don't think he'll be available Saturday (against Washington). We're going to put him as day-to-day for now, but it looks like it might be a few days anyway,” said Cassidy.

“We'll probably have a much better idea tomorrow, or worst case, Saturday morning when it calms down a bit, but that is the initial prognosis for him."

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