Better balanced Bruins beat Golden Knights

The bottom half of the Bruins’ lineup scored the critical goals on Sunday night, as the B’s closed a 3-1-0 homestand before starting a four-game road trip.

BOSTON -- So the Bruins have a couple of extra items to bring on their upcoming road trip. Since they’re the sorts of things that can come in very handy, the B’s don’t mind.

Take secondary scoring, for instance. If they didn’t finally get some on Sunday night at TD Garden, they may not have beaten the Golden Knights, 4-1, to claim a second straight victory for the first time since Oct. 23-25.

And don’t forget goaltending depth, although that’s nothing new at this point. All the same, Jaroslav Halak’s back-to-back wins over the Maple Leafs (5-1 on Saturday) and Knights kept the Bruins from running into trouble while Tuukka Rask was on a leave of absence that’s expected to end within the next couple of days.

“I felt fine,” said Halak, who for the second straight night was at his busiest in the first period (15 saves on Sunday, after 20 stops in Saturday’s opening 20 minutes). “I got a great sleep, so why not? We didn’t skate (Sunday) morning -- just a video, a good meal, then a nap.”

Halak’s teammates didn’t exactly snooze in Sunday’s first period, but they made life difficult for themselves by taking three straight penalties after grabbing a quick 1-0 lead. Third-line winger Danton Heinen’s early goal wasn’t wasted, though, and the successful penalty kills energized them enough to get a goal from the fourth line.

“I think we need to be a line like that, that can … chip in offensively,” said Heinen, who went goal-less in his first 12 games this season, but has now scored twice in the last three. “Obviously that top line (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak) does the majority of our scoring … but when they’re not there we need to be reliable and chip in every once in a while.”

Heinen and right wing Anders Bjork, both in their second NHL seasons, spent a second straight game flanking rookie center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, who was recalled from AHL Providence on Friday -- the day after the Bruins’ sloppy, 8-5 loss to the Canucks. Bjork, who had gone 10 games without a point, hit Heinen to complete a high-speed 2-on-2 rush just 2:54 into the game.

“I thought they had a good weekend,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Obviously, getting a goal helps when you’re young … You’re used to getting on the scoresheet, so it gets frustrating if you don’t.

“And It was a good goal. They did it the right way. It wasn’t lucky, wasn’t a fluke.”

The goal engineered by the latest version of the fourth line -- Chris Wagner at left wing, Sean Kuraly at center, David Backes at right wing, Noel Acciari out of the mix for the second straight game -- was definitely a fluke, but its creation was legitimate. Kuraly rushed the puck to the red line, dumped it to the right of former P-Bruins teammate and Boston first-round draftee Malcolm Subban, then watch rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon -- promoted in the morning to replaced injured Brandon Carlo -- whack the puck into an empty net when Subban fell down trying to play the carom.

“You imagine scoring your first (NHL) goal, and being able to accomplish that is something big,” said Lauzon, who played his fifth NHL game. “I don’t remember how I imagined it, but … it’s a pretty special feeling.”

The point meant a lot to Kuraly, too, because he hadn’t scored one in his previous 11 games, and because he was eager to take some pressure off the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak trio -- which did eventually add power-play goals from Marchand (sixth of the season) and Pastrnak (16th in 17 games).

“That’s really what you’re working for – to help the team and put something on the board,” Kuraly said.

The Bruins, 3-1-0 on a four-game homestand in advance of a four-game trip that begins on Wednesday in Colorado, will take as much of that type of help as they can.

“That’s what it’s going to take for us to win on a consistent basis,” Cassidy said. “At the end of the day, you need balanced scoring to do it every night, and we’re starting to see that.”