The Sunday Read: Bruins ‘Really Happy’ for Khusnutdinov Success  

BOSTON –– Marat Khusnutdinov skated onto the ice in front of a roaring TD Garden crowd.

The Boston Bruins forward had just posted a five-point performance, including four goals and one assist, in his team’s whopping 10-2 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday, and earned the first star of the game.

It was a moment that the 23-year-old will likely remember for a long time as evidence, perhaps, that the process works.

Khusnutdinov was traded to Boston in March from the Minnesota Wild, who selected him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He has played on every line for the B’s this season, filling both flashy and grinding roles.

And, on Saturday, he popped while skating alongside David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm.

“With his quickness and speed and his hockey IQ, he just covers a lot of things and checks a lot of boxes. For me, I saw it in training camp. For some reason, I always liked the way he plays,” head coach Marco Sturm said of Khusnutdinov.

“And now he worked his way through, through some different positions in the lineup, lines, he was a scratch one day. But I think now the players realize, too, how much he actually does for his linemates. Now everyone wants to play with him.”

It was Khusnutdinov’s first career multi-goal game and, accordingly, his first NHL hat trick. Teammate Pavel Zacha shared the accolade, scoring three goals of his own.

“Not too often that two guys get a hat trick in the same game,” Zacha said. “I am happy that it happened, and super happy for [Khusnutdinov].”

Khusnutdinov was moved to the first line for the past two matchups and is on a three-game point streak, with four goals and three assists through that stretch. He is finding consistency and reliability in his game, which is only benefiting the Bruins. Khusnutdinov, though, won’t take full credit.

“It is awesome,” he said. “Lucky day for me. Thank you, partners. Just keep going.”

​Pastrnak assisted on three of Khusnutdinov’s four goals against the Rangers; No. 88 finished the afternoon with six assists, which tied Bobby Orr and Ken Hodge for the most assists in one game in franchise history.​

Khusnutdinov hit the two-goal mark by the second period, and after that, Pastrnak made it his mission to help his linemate find the third.

“I was looking for him, and I told him, but I missed him kind of in the second period; he wasn’t open,” Pastrnak said. “He told me, ‘I am just going to go to the net for the rest of the night,’ and that’s what he did. He ended up getting two tipped goals, great hand-eye coordination. Really happy for him.”

When Pastrnak and Khusnutdinov first got put together at the end of October, the alternate captain had a clear message to the youngster: “There’s a reason you got promoted to this line. Your game got you here. So just play your game.”

It seems Khusnutdinov has embraced that sentiment; he’s grown more confident in his play and purpose with the Bruins as the season has gone on. And, he doesn’t mind playing with Pastrnak.

​“I mean, just hold the stick,” Khusnutdinov said with a smile regarding how he scores while on the ice with Pastrnak.

Khusnutdinov has a total of 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) through 40 games this year. The contributions from those outside of the B’s veteran goal scorers have been key to the team’s success. The Bruins rank eighth in the league for goals scored per game during a season in which many did not expect that production.

“He’s a great kid that recognizes where he plays in the lineup, and he’s been playing on every line. He’s very smart to recognize what is his role each and every game. Right now, he’s playing with us, and it’s fun to play with him,” Pastrnak said.

“With his speed, and he’s so creative and strong on the puck for his size. He’s extremely hard on the puck and creates so many turnovers on the forecheck. Really enjoy seeing his improvement every game.”​

In a game where records were broken and milestones were hit for the first time in decades, Khusnutdinov’s name will be written in the B’s history book. It is a reality that was not so clear just a few months back. But, here Khusnutdinov is as a headline name in the team’s highest-scoring game since 1988. And the locker room couldn’t enjoy it more.

“It’s huge. He’s a great teammate. Everybody loves him, and he is fun to be around,” Mark Kastelic said. “Just kudos to him. From day one, he hasn’t been given anything, and he worked hard for everything. They’re really clicking right now, and it’s just fun to watch and great to see out of him.”

The soft-spoken Khusnutdinov kept coming back to one message as he stood in his stall following the blowout showing: “Say one more time, thank you to my partners,” he said.