BOSTON -- It was only one night, but the Boston Bruins finally figured out a way to win on home ice.

"We talked about it. We've been talking about it for about a month now," Boston center Ryan Spooner said after his team recorded its first regulation home win since Jan. 16 with a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

"We seem to have some problems here, and I think it's a mental problem for us," said Spooner, who had an assist. "People have been asking why we're better on the road than we are here, and it was kind of hard to exactly pinpoint what it was. I think it was just the focus. We've had some games at home that we haven't won, but I think as a whole we played the entire 60 (minutes) tonight, and that was important for us."

Right winger David Pastrnak scored two goals, including one on a penalty shot, and goalie Tuukka Rask stopped a season-high 41 shots as the Bruins raised their home record to just 13-15-3. They are 20-7-3 on the road.

Boston surrendered a combined 15 goals in the previous two home games, and it was 2-4-1 in its previous seven home games.

Getting a home win was important for the Bruins' confidence with the team set for a four-game homestand after Friday night's game at Carolina. The victory came with players' fathers on hand prior to joining the team for Friday's game against the Hurricanes.

The Bruins swept the three-game season series from the Penguins with a 14-3 goals advantage. The two teams are battling for Eastern Conference playoff position -- the Bruins moving into a second-place tie in the Atlantic Division with the win and the Penguins remaining as the second wild-card team with the loss.

Asked about getting the home win, defenseman Adam McQuaid, who had a strong game, said, "We still had our moments, and Tuukka was big for us at times, but overall I think it was a better effort."

Pastrnak, 19, became the young Bruins player to score on a penalty shot when he beat Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the first period. He scored again in the second period and finished with seven shots on goal.

Right wingers Jimmy Hayes and Landon Ferraro and left winger Brad Marchand scored in a span of 4:53 in the third period for Boston, breaking open a close game. Marchand's goal was his 31st of the season, his 16th in the past 18 games.

Rookie right winger Tom Kuhnhackl scored for Pittsburgh in the second period, cutting a two-goal deficit in half. This time, the Bruins responded.

Rask raised his record for the season to 23-17-5. He is 6-2-0 in his past eight decisions.

"I thought we had some good chances," said Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, the star center held off the score sheet despite playing well. "They're definitely good defensively, but we had 40 shots. We had some really good scoring chances, so I think the fact that you get those, you're happy to get them. You've got to find a way to put them in. It was probably more Rask on a bunch of them."

Ferraro scored on a breakaway for his first goal in 30 games since Dec. 9, and Marchand capped the closing rally.

Fleury, falling to 24-14-6, wasn't helped much by his teammates.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said, "I don't think we made them work as hard as we needed to make them work for their goals."

The penalty shot, the first of Pastrnak's young career, was the third converted by the Bruins in as many tries this season. Marchand had the others. The rest of the NHL, not counting other games Wednesday night, was just 13-for-47.

The Pittsburgh goal held up under league review after the puck went in off the stopping Kuhnhackl's skates. Kuhnhackl wound up with the second goal of his 19-game NHL career. With his assist on the play, center Oskar Sundqvist picked up his first point in 10 NHL games.

NOTES: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin (lower body) missed his 10th consecutive game, and C Nick Bonino (hand) missed his 17th straight, but coach Mike Sullivan hopes to have both back in the lineup Saturday for a home game against the Winnipeg Jets. Without Malkin, the Penguins are 1-for-24 on the power play, failing on their only chance Wednesday, their 16th straight without a goal. ... LW Loui Eriksson, who has been on a tear but may also be on the trade block with his contract ending after the season, is the only Bruin to play in all 61 games this season. Boston is the only team in the league with only one player missing just one game. ... The Penguins fell to 15-11-5 under Sullivan.