David Pastrnak is heating up — and keeping Bruins’ slim playoff hopes afloatÂ
"I think we can beat anybody in the league.”
The Bruins adhered to a winning formula during Thursday’s 2-0 win against the Senators.
A team defense that’s sprung far too many leaks this winter righted the ship — limiting Ottawa to just four high-danger scoring chances during 5-on-5 play.
A reeling penalty kill that surrendered three tallies to the Devils just 24 hours earlier snuffed out all four bids that the Sens’ man advantage had on the TD Garden ice.
The few quality looks that Boston’s defense did cough up were turned aside by Joonas Korpisalo, who stopped all 29 shots that came his way en route to his third shutout of the season.
And with Boston in desperate need of a jolt in the offensive zone, David Pastrnak supplied all of the scoring that his team would need.
Adhering to those winning principles — at least on a consistent basis — has been hard to come by for a Bruins team that is teetering on the brink of a playoff spot.
But Pastnrak’s ability to serve as an on-ice cheat code in the offensive zone and shoulder Boston’s scoring load has been validated time and time again over his NHL career.
And after a slow start, Boston’s star winger seems to be hitting his stride at just the right time this season.
As the Bruins brace themselves for an arduous scrap for a playoff spot over these next three months, Pastrnak’s re-emergence as an offensive juggernaut stands as one of the few welcome developments in what has largely been an underwhelming campaign for Boston.
It’s a return to form that might just be the only thing separating Boston for some golf trips in mid-April.
“Both teams [are] fighting for their lives,” Pastrnak said postgame. “It was a big game. They had a tough one [vs. Rangers on Tuesday], we had a tough one yesterday in Jersey. So I think both groups were focused and we were able to get that lead and then kind of protect it and be focused and limited the chances against and take care of our house.”
The calendar flipping to 2025 has been a welcome sight for Pastrnak, who has now scored 10 goals and 19 total points over his last 11 games.
The 28-year-old winger once again did the heavy lifting on Thursday against Ottawa — setting up linemate Morgan Geekie’s opening goal with a slick, turnaround feed through the crease that was knocked home just 2:06 into the second period.
Pastrnak snuffed out any shot of another late-game comeback by Ottawa by delivering the coup de grace with an empty-net tally with five seconds left on the clock.
“I mean, he fakes me out sometimes, but, yeah — I’m starting to grow a little bit as to when he’s going to do stuff like that,” Geekie, who now has 12 goals in his last 27 games, said of Pastrnak’s playmaking. “I mean, you see the plays he makes out there. So you just try to get open. I know there’s always a chance the puck’s coming.”
The Bruins are no stranger to depending on Pastrnak to fuel their offensive firepower.
No longer able to rely on a “perfection line” of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand to bail them out, the Bruins have reaped the benefits of Pastrnak shredding defenses in a variety of ways.
A year removed from tallying 61 goals and recording 113 points during Boston’s record-setting 2022-23 campaign, Pastrnak developed into more of a playmaker during the team’s overachieving 2023-24 season — recording a career-high 63 assists as part of a 110-point showing.
Boston’s disjointed chemistry up front — coupled with a putrid power play (13.4 percent, 30th in the NHL) — has sapped Pastrnak from some of the lofty stat lines he usually puts up in 2024-25.
His own struggles with the puck and a severe regression in his shooting percentage didn’t make things any easier — with Pastrnak stuck on just 13 tallies through the first 40 games of the year.
But even with Boston’s special-teams woes and a dearth of high-end scoring help, Pastrnak has started to carry the Bruins in all situations during this recent heater.
As noted by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson, the Bruins have outscored opponents, 31-20 (+11), and outshot them, 226-182 (+44), during the 382:25 of ice time that Pastrnak has logged over the last 19 games.
When Pastrnak has not been on the ice over that same 19-game stretch, the Bruins have been outscored, 37-28 (-9), and outshot, 383-285 (-98). Woof.
In other words, the Bruins are being put on the ropes whenever Pastrnak is getting a breather on the bench.
It’s a stat line that doesn’t necessarily reflect well on the Bruins as far as an underachieving supporting cast and a lack of talent around the star forward.
But for now, Pastrnak is doing enough to keep his team afloat whenever he’s on the ice.
It’s not a sustainable strategy, but one that is keeping Boston off the mat in what could have been a knockout blow by Ottawa on Thursday.
“We can win games like this,” Pastrnak said of Thursday’s win. “We can play a full 60 minutes with focus and with good defense when we are dialed like this and playing like that, I think we can beat anybody in the league.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com