Pavel Zacha scores twice as Bruins beat Minnesota 6-3, spoiling Wild's chance to clinch playoff spot

BOSTON (AP) — Pavel Zacha scored his 25th goal in the opening period and added a game-sealing score late in the game, leading the Boston Bruins past Minnesota 6-3 on Saturday to spoil the Wild’s chance to clinch a playoff spot.

Elias Lindholm scored twice while Andrew Peeke and Viktor Arvidsson also had goals for the Bruins. David Pastrnak extended his season-high point streak to 12 games with two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves.

In a tight race with Montreal for third place in the Atlantic Division, Boston has won four of its last five games and 15 of its last 17 home games.

The Wild have lost six of their last nine but have a firm hold on third place in the Central Division. A victory Saturday would have earned them a playoff berth.

Kirill Kaprizov scored late in the second period for Minnesota after it fell behind 3-0. Mats Zuccarello added a power-play goal with a two-man advantage in the third to pull the Wild within 4-2.

Ryan Hartman’s goal sliced Minnesota’s deficit to 4-3 with just over 6 minutes left before Zacha’s second with 3:10 left sealed it.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 25 shots but failed to pick up his 100th career victory.

Peeke’s shot from just above the right circle caromed in off the far post and crossbar, making it 1-0 just 61 seconds into the game.

Zacha extended his career-high goal mark by one-timing Arvidsson’s feed past Gustavsson 14 minutes into the first. Zacha’s previous career-best total was 21, done twice in his first two seasons with Boston.

Pastrnak sent a cross-ice pass to Arvidsson, who beat Gustavsson for a tough-angle goal from deep at the left circle midway into the second.

The Wild easily handled the Bruins in the teams’ previous matchup in Minnesota on Dec. 14.

Wild: Host Vancouver on Thursday.

Bruins: At Columbus Sunday.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Minnesota Wild's Zach Bogosian tries to hold off Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) and goaltender Jeremy Swayman, right, watch the puck near the crease during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy collides with Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak while going after a loose puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Boston Bruins' Viktor Arvidsson (71) is congratulated at the bench after scoring as Minnesota Wild's Ryan Hartman (38) skates past during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Hundreds of employees at one of the U.S. Navy’s biggest shipbuilding contractors voted Saturday to approve a contract deal with Bath Iron Works, ending a weeklong strike.

Members of the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement that goes into effect immediately, the shipyard said. That followed an hourslong union meeting at a high school.

“We look forward to working together once again to deliver the Navy’s ships on time to protect our nation and our families,” Bath Iron Works, known for the slogan “Bath built is best built,” said in a statement.

The shipyard and the union negotiated for three weeks without resolving differences before the strike began last Monday, Bath Iron Works spokesperson David Hench said.

He said previously that the shipyard, which has built ships for the Navy for more than a century, “proposed a number of historic wage and benefit options” to bring the union and the company closer together.

The Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association is affiliated with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, which is commonly known as the UAW and is one of the country’s largest unions. The BMDA members at Bath Iron Works are employed as designers, nondestructive test technicians, technical clerks, laboratory technicians and associate engineers, the union said.

Representatives of the Maine AFL-CIO confirmed the ratification vote via text messages to The Associated Press.

The union local said that while not all of its goals were reached, the deal includes improvements that are a win for workers. It did not give specifics of the agreement.

“Establishing not only a better contract foundation for the next negotiation but also developing an engaged and motivated membership; that now has this experience to bring to bear in any future negotiation or organizing activity,” it said in a statement.

The strike began several weeks after a morale-boosting appearance in which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touted the need to boost defense manufacturing. It also took place during the U.S. war effort in Iran.

Bath Iron Works is a major shipbuilder for the Navy and was awarded a multiyear contract to make several Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers in 2023. Navy officials call the Arleigh Burke the “backbone of the Navy’s surface fleet” and last year exercised an option last year to add an additional destroyer to the contract.

The company did not respond to questions about whether the strike slowed production.

The Navy accepted delivery of the future Arleigh Burke-class USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., last year, and it is due to be commissioned next month, Hench said.

The shipyard had said on its website that salaried personnel, subcontractors and other employees who elected to come to work could be used to continue business operations during the strike. The shipyard’s total workforce is about 6,800 people, Hench said.

Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, Calif. contributed.

FILE - Striking workers stage picket line outside Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on Monday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi, File)