David Pastrnak scores hat trick, becomes second Bruin to score 60 goals in a season

David Pastrnak and Phil Esposito are the only two Bruins to score 60 or more goals in a single season.

Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak, center, celebrates his third goal of the game with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Chris Szagola / AP

By Conor Ryan

April 9, 2023

2 minutes to read

David Pastrnak continues to etch his name into the record books.

Exactly two weeks after becoming just the sixth Boston Bruins player to score 50 or more goals in a single season, Pastrnak put himself in more exclusive company during Sunday’s record-setting win over the Flyers.

Thanks to a hat-trick performance against Philadelphia, Pastrnak became just the second Bruin to hit the 60-goal mark in a single season — joining Phil Esposito, who hit that scoring threshold four times in his Hall-of-Fame career.

Pastrnak secured his 15th career hat trick just 39 seconds into the third period of Sunday’s matchup against the Flyers.

During a 2-on-1 sequence with Tyler Bertuzzi, Pastrnak capped off the rush opportunity with a quick snap shot that beat Felix Sandstrom clean for his 60th tally in 80 games. It was also the 300th goal of his NHL career.

🍝 15TH CAREER HAT TRICK

🍝 60TH GOAL OF THE SEASON

🍝 300TH CAREER GOAL pic.twitter.com/FviyDjCqfx
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 10, 2023

Pastrnak got the best of Sandstrom twice in the second period, finding twine off of a wrister from the high slot and a one-time blast from the left circle. Pastrnak’s offensive surge helped lift Boston to a league-record 63rd win this season.

“It’s very special. It’s been a lot of fun, not going to lie,” Pastrnak said postgame. “It’s been enjoyable, especially with the group we have here and we obviously knew what was at stake and it’s definitely special to hit it with a game like this and make history today in the biggest league in hockey. So we definitely appreciate it.”

Make it 5️⃣9️⃣ for 8️⃣8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/MB1tuvxXT0
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 9, 2023

Pastrnak’s 15 hat tricks now ranks second all-time in Bruins franchise history, leapfrogging Cam Neely (14 hat tricks) thanks to Sunday’s showing. Only Esposito (26 hat tricks) stands in front of the Czech sniper.

Pastrnak has been an O-zone force all season long for the Bruins. But the 26-year-old winger has been on fire just ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring 14 goals and 19 points over his last 13 games.

“Confidence, creativity, and competitiveness — those three C’s exude from him,” Jim Montgomery said of Pastrnak post And then you combine that with an attitude of he’s a team-first guy and he cares about and loves being a Bruin. I think his teammates, as you could tell, when he got two — I think everybody was passing the puck to him.