Pastrnak Pots Two as Boston Win Fourth Straight

BOSTON - David Pastrnak could have gone for the hat trick.
It would have been the 15th of his career and moved him into second place on the Bruins' all-time list, while capping an afternoon during which he had already secured his third career 40-goal campaign.
Instead, the winger was looking out for his friend.

With the Senators' net empty and time winding down in the third period on Monday, Pastrnak opted not to pad his own stats but to feed David Krejci - his countryman, idol, and teammate - who before Boston's 3-1 win over Ottawa was feted for his 1,000th career contest in a pregame ceremony at TD Garden.
"Yeah, for sure," Pastrnak said when asked if he was trying to get Krejci the puck. "I mean, that was my goal was to look for him the whole game. It was still a good game and we definitely needed it as a line."
It was a good game, indeed - and a fitting snapshot of the mentality that courses through the fabric of this Bruins team.
"It speaks volumes about their friendship and also about the unselfishness on our team," said coach Jim Montgomery. "It's been like that all year, where someone's always trying to help someone else out, not worrying about themselves."
Pastrnak did his damage earlier in the game when he secured his third career 40-goal season on a stellar connection with Charlie McAvoy. To start the sequence, Krejci won a faceoff back to Pastrnak, who quickly sent a feed over to McAvoy at the right point.
The puck, however, went wide of the defenseman, forcing him to pick it up after a ricochet off the side wall. As the puck came back toward McAvoy, so too was Ottawa's Alex DeBrincat, leading the blue liner to fake a slap shot, spin away from the defender, and zip a pass back across the zone to Pastrnak.
Pastrnak then took one step in from the left-wing dot and ripped a wrister over the glove of Senators goalie Kevin Mandolese to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 2:54 left in the second.
"It was a set play that we didn't connect tape-to-tape and he just let it bounce off the boards and I told him, 'That was an unbelievable play,'" Pastrnak said of McAvoy. "And it was great pass to beat three guys with one pass…that's our star player."

The tally made Pastrnak one of just five players in Bruins history to register at least three seasons of 40-plus goals, joining Phil Esposito (seven), Rick Middleton (five), Cam Neely (four), and Ken Hodge (three).
"He naturally finds holes," Montgomery said of what makes Pastrnak one of the league's elite goal scorers. "He finds soft areas, we call it, in the other team's defensive zone system. That play, it's hard for the opposing team to stay with anybody because of the play that Charlie McAvoy made. I've never seen that special of a play in that situation."
McAvoy, who ended up with three assists, made another elite play on Pastrnak's second goal of the afternoon. As the blue liner tumbled to the ice while attempting to clear the Boston zone, the puck bounced back into the Bruins' end and ended up in McAvoy's feet. Pavel Zacha tried to step in and corral the loose puck, but not before McAvoy spun around while on his knees and whacked a feed through the neutral zone to Pastrnak, who was waiting at the Ottawa blue line.
Pastrnak then broke in all alone on Mandolese and deposited a backhander through the backstop's five hole to extend the B's lead to 3-1 with 7:50 remaining.
"I thought he was hanging on to pucks a lot, I thought his speed was very noticeable," Montgomery said of Pastrnak. "When he's really on, like he was tonight, it jumps out at you. When he has his B-game it still jumps out at you, that's how good he is. He was just ultra-creative. I thought him and Charlie McAvoy were special tonight."

Feting 46

Before the game, the Bruins celebrated Krejci for hitting the 1,000-game plateau on Jan. 16 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 16-year member of the Black & Gold was congratulated by a number of current and former Bruins - including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Pastrnak, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, Milan Lucic, Torey Krug, and Jaromir Jagr - during a video tribute that played to begin the ceremony.
"I appreciate all of those guys," said Krejci. "They're really close to me, and hearing them talk, it was pretty special."
Krejci was also presented with the traditional Tiffany crystal by Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk and silver stick by general manager Don Sweeney. Bruins president Cam Neely revealed a custom painting of Krejci by esteemed professional sports artist Tony Harris. Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak gifted Krejci with a Rolex watch and bottle of wine on behalf of the players.
"I was on the bench for a few of the guys' 1,000th game, so I knew what to expect a little bit, but it was more than I expected," said Krejci. "It was a pretty special moment, and having the family there with me, it was more than I expected. It started before the game in the room with the boys. Special moment. Very, very thankful that I am part of this team."
Krejci was joined for the ceremony by his wife, Naomi, and children, Everett and Elina. He also had a large group of friends and family from Czechia in attendance at TD Garden.
"They're the reason why I am in this position today," said Krejci. "Without them, I definitely wouldn't be here. They sacrifice a lot, and being a professional hockey player, it's not easy, always on the road, even at home on game days.
"So, they sacrifice a lot. And this is not about me, it's about them, about my teammates, about this team, and without everyone, like I said, I wouldn't be here."

Hitting 90

The Bruins have now won four in a row after a stretch of four losses in five games - and with the win made some history. Boston improved to 43-8-5 across 56 games with the victory, which is good for 91 points. That matched the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest games to 90 points in NHL history.
"We're at that point in the season where it's mental," said Krejci. "We all know what we can do in this room, and we've got to be mentally prepared for each game. We hit a little tough patch maybe a couple of weeks ago, but we're a good team. We've got good guys on the team, and we talk about it.
"Like I said, it's mental. We've just got to get ready for those games. We've got to stay sharp because it is not easy. This is the time of the year that if you let up, it can get away from you pretty easily, so we've got to stick together, grind it out and be mentally sharp."

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