SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Even on the eve of Valentine's Day, the reeling Minnesota Wild found little love from their opponents, or their home fans.

Center David Krejci had a goal and an assist as the Boston Bruins won for the fourth time in their last five games, beating the Wild 4-2 on Saturday and keeping Minnesota winless at home in 2016.

Left winger Brad Marchand added his 12th goal in the last 12 games, right winger Loui Eriksson scored a third period insurance goal and defenseman Zdeno Chara notched an empty net goal for the Bruins (30-19-6), who got 31 saves from goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Boston improved to 18-5-3 on the road, making them one of the NHL's better teams away from home.

"I wish I could transport that to our home games, but we just seem to be ready to play and seem to be able to continue to play more or less, for the 60 minute span," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who got his 500th career win.

"When there is a breakdown, we are able to respond with another goal. There doesn't seem to be a panic."

It was the eighth consecutive loss for Minnesota. The Wild (23-22-10) got a goals from left winger Thomas Vanek and rookie defenseman Mike Reilly, along with 15 saves from goalie Darcy Kuemper, but fell to 1-11-2 in their last 14 games.

Minnesota also tied a franchise record for eight consecutive home games without a victory (0-5-3), a mark that was set in 2001 when the Wild were a first-year expansion team.

The Wild last won at home on Dec. 28. The latest loss added more fuel to the speculation that Wild coach Mike Yeo will be replaced soon, despite a vote of confidence from general manager Chuck Fletcher last week.

"I know what (Fletcher) said the other day, and I'm a realist," Yeo said. "You can't lose every game and expect to think that there's not going to be changes.

"I'm operating under the assumption that I'm going to be the coach tomorrow, and I know what I'm going to do, and it's going to be something different from what we've done. That's what happens. When you lose, you're looking for a response; you need a response."

The Bruins took two early penalties, killing the first one and scoring shorthanded on the second one. Marchand carried the puck into the Minnesota zone and passed off to Krejci, then cut to the net.

Krejci's return pass found its way through a crowd to Marchand at the left of the net, where he needed only to tap the puck in, with Kuemper still hugging the right post.

It was Marchand's 19th career shorthanded goal, the most by any NHL player in the last six years.

"He's a great player and we talked a little bit in the room before we went out there," said Marchand, crediting Krejci for the pass. "The big thing is communication and talking to each other, letting each other know where we are. He made a great play there. It's fun to watch."

Minnesota tied the game in the second period when Vanek took advantage of a loose puck behind the Boston net. Gustavsson had left the crease to play the puck, and Vanek gained control on a Boston turnover.

The goalie was sliding back into position when Vanek was able to jam a shot under Gustavsson's left leg pad. It was the first goal in more than a month for Vanek, who recently was a healthy scratch by the Wild in hopes of sparking his offense.



But the Wild's momentum was gone only 35 seconds later, when Krejci scored on a rush to the net, taking a cross-ice pass from right winger David Pastrnak and popping a low shot off Wild right winger Nino Niederreiter and over the line.

Niederreiter was sliding in an attempt to block the shot, only to have the puck carom off his chest and over the line. Niederreiter's momentum knocked the net off the moorings, but replay confirmed it was a good goal.

"It seems to be the trend," Vanek said. "We work so hard to finally get one and get this crowd into it, and we take the crowd out of it pretty quickly again.”

Eriksson scored on a breakaway seven minutes into the final period. Minnesota dominated offensively to that point, pressing to tie the game, but a turnover at the far blue line sprung Eriksson, who chased down the puck and tucked a backhand shot between Kuemper's knees.

After Chara's empty-netter made it 4-1, Reilly got his first career goal with a wrist shot from the high slot with 36.7 seconds left. The former University of Minnesota star was playing in his seventh NHL game.

"I don't know, I don't have an answer for that one right now," Wild captain Mikko Koivu said regarding the spark his team needs to right the ship. "If we had, we wouldn't be in this spot. It's been too long and like I said, it's really bad."

Boston was playing without center Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins' leading scorer, who was scratched because of an undisclosed ailment. Bergeron fought Winnipeg Jets right winger Blake Wheeler in the Bruins' 6-2 road win on Thursday and was limited to 14 minutes in that game.

NOTES: With C Patrice Bergeron sidelined on Saturday, the Bruins recalled C Joonas Kemppainen from their Providence AHL team. Kemppainen last played for Boston in a Jan. 26 home game against the Anaheim Ducks, before being sent to the minors. ... It was below zero in the Twin Cities on Saturday morning, but the early forecast for next week when the NHL Stadium Series comes to Minnesota is looking warmer. Weather watchers predict cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s next Sunday, when the Wild host the Chicago Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. ... Even without overtime, Wild D Ryan Suter logged nearly 35 minutes of ice time in his team's 4-3 home loss to Washington on Thursday, which was the largest regulation game workload of his NHL career. ... Boston, which is in the midst of a six-game trip, visits the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. The Wild head out on a three-game western Canada trip which starts on Monday, when they visit the Vancouver Canucks.