The only “punk” connection I can see is to Patti Smith, who covered “Because The Night”. And she’s barely “punk” as it became known, anyhow.
He was “punk” because he wore a leather jacket once. And he aped some of his singing style from Suicide.
http://nypost.com/2014/01/12/springsteens-punk-roots/
But Springsteen was on to Suicide and knew they had something special. His love for the stark sound of their first two albums (1977’s “Suicide” and 1980’s “Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev”) began dripping into his own music through the brooding 1982 album “Nebraska.” One track, in particular, “State Trooper,” was punctuated with shrill yelps that were an obvious steal from Vega. “I remember walking into my label just after it came out,” Vega says. “I thought it was one of my albums that I had forgotten about. But it was Bruce!”