Pastrnak Scores 400th Goal in Bruins Win Over Toronto

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins’ bench rose to its feet as David Pastrnak broke into the zone alone with the puck on his stick.

​With one backhanded deke, Pastrnak tucked it past Dennis Hildeby, and a flurry of Black & Gold jerseys flooded onto the ice to celebrate.

It was Pastrnak’s 400th career goal, and gave the B’s a 4-1 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs 49 seconds into the middle frame Tuesday at TD Garden.

“At that point, I didn’t make much of it,” Pastrnak said. “But it really hit me when the guys came over. That was so cool what they did for me. That is when it, probably, really hit me.”

Morgan Geekie chipped it up to Pastrnak and earned the primary assist on the play. He grabbed the puck from the net for his teammate’s safekeeping, too.​

“It was awesome. We all knew it was coming sooner than later. He is a special player, and we’re lucky we get to see that day in and day out. Just the way he handles himself on and off the ice,” Geekie said.

​“With the weight he has and the weight he carries every day, the superstar that he is, you would never know that just talking to him. Everybody is an equal to him in here. We all look up to him, and we all learn every day from how he carries himself off the ice.”

It turned into a three-point (two goals, one assist) showing for Pastrnak in the eventual 5-3 victory, which extended Boston’s streak to seven games.​

“It was awesome to top it off with a win,” Pastrnak said. “To be able to do it at home in front of our fans, that is why it was special.”

The Bruins got off to a strong start before Pastrnak widened the gap – and hit an NHL milestone – to open the second period.

Pavel Zacha put the Bruins ahead 1-0 while on the power play in the first, set up by none other than Pastrnak. Zacha deflected Pastrnak's initial shot from the right circle at 4:27 for his fifth tally of the year.

While Toronto responded with a short-handed goal from Steven Lorentz at 6:41, Hampus Lindholm regained the B’s advantage with his own power-play goal – and his first of the season – at 9:32. Mason Lohrei picked up the assist, marking his third point in two games since returning to the lineup.

Alex Steeves then logged his first goal as a Bruin for the 3-1 boost. The 25-year-old forward – who signed a one-year contract with Boston in July after four years in the Toronto organization – started his shift with a strong forecheck, which resulted in a scoring snapshot at 17:23.

“I think we’ve been playing some great hockey,” Lindholm said. “We’ve really started to figure out what’s going to be successful for us as a group, our identity as a group. I think if we stick to it, we make it hard for teams.”

Pastrnak hitting the 400 mark was the highlight of the second. Bobby McMann also scored with 1:02 remaining in the period to make it 4-2. Oliver Ekman-Larsson pulled Toronto within one, 4-3, at 3:32 of the third, but Pastrnak’s second of the night, this time on the power play, made it 5-3 at 9:48.​

Pastrnak ranks sixth in all-time goals for the franchise and is two away from passing Rick Middleton, who has 402.

“Pasta is a special player. To score 400 goals in this league, that is pretty amazing,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I told [Chris Kelly] that is more I and you have together. And practice – including practice.”​

The Bruins now depart on a two-game road trip, facing the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

“Seven games, it is easy to ride high, but you have to control the emotion,” Nikita Zadorov said. “You gotta understand where it’s high and lows. You’ve got to stay even.”