OTTAWA SENATORS VS BOSTON BRUINS 11/02/19

The Boston Bruins have won four in a row, secured at least a point in each of their last eight contests (6-0-2) and have tied the best 12-game start (9-1-2) in franchise history (1929-30).

For all of his club's success, however, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy expects more -- and he hopes to get it on Saturday as the team hosts the Ottawa Senators in the second contest of a three-game homestand.

"We're getting there. I think these past four, five, six games, we've progressively tightened up, played more our style where teams have got to earn their way out there," Cassidy said. "I thought at the start of the year we were a little bit too loose, even though our goals against was down. ...

"But, I see us more start to finish now, playing that way. Listen, nobody's going to be at 60 minutes every night at this time of the year. You're still figuring out your team, guys are still getting going, but we're getting closer. I like where we're at."

Cassidy should, considering the Bruins have outscored their foes by a 19-7 margin during their winning streak.

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak extended their respective point streaks during Boston's 5-1 victory over San Jose on Tuesday, with the former setting up a returning David Krejci in the first period to dent the scoresheet in his 11th consecutive contest (seven goals, 14 assists).

Pastrnak pushed his point streak to 10 games (12 goals, 12 assists) after notching his team-leading 12th goal, making him just the third player in franchise history to reach that mark in a single October (Phil Esposito, 14, 1973; Charlie Simmer, 12, 1985).

Speaking of streaks, Boston won all four of its games against Ottawa over the last two seasons -- and Marchand and Pastrnak have had a hand in that as well.

Marchand collected seven points (two goals, five assists) in the meetings in 2018-19 while Pastrnak has 12 (five goals, seven assists) over the two-campaign run.

Impressive numbers to be certain, however the Bruins are more interested in the here and now.

"We're feeling good as a team. We reset after each game and come into the next game with the same mentality that we've had for these four that we've won in a row," defenseman Brandon Carlo said. "So we're just continuing to keep a positive attitude in here, play for each other and most of all, just have fun."

Ottawa is starting to have fun after answering a dismal eight-game stretch (1-6-1) by sandwiching 5-2 victories around a 4-2 loss during its recent three-game homestand.

Nick Paul (two goals, one assist) and Brady Tkachuk (one goal, two assists) each recorded three-point performances in Sunday's win over San Jose while Craig Anderson turned aside 34 shots.

Anderson is expected to return to the crease against Boston, vs. which he owns a 12-14-0 record with one shutout, a 3.08 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

Senators coach D.J. Smith praised the contributions of fourth-liners Filip Chlapik and J.C. Beaudin, who combined for seven hits against the Sharks. The pair was shuffled to Belleville after the San Jose game before promptly being recalled from the American Hockey League.

Smith said he doesn't intend to tinker with his lineup, especially after a victory.

"That's the message: If you play well and you play hard then you get to play again," Smith said, per the Ottawa Sun. "I thought they were a big reason why we were good the other day. They took short shifts and they hit everything."

The Senators will vie for their first win away from Canada's capital when they open their three-game road trip.