Pastrnak blossoming as leader in first season as Bruins captain

BOSTON -- Just three names sit ahead of David Pastrnak, all giants of the Boston Bruins, all Hall of Famers: Johnny Bucyk, Phil Esposito, Patrice Bergeron.

With his second goal on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth, his second goal of the game and second goal of the season, Pastrnak tied longtime teammate Brad Marchand for fourth all-time in goals among Bruins, with 422 in 838 NHL games.

Next up: Bergeron, whose 427 could be a couple of good games away.

“It’s nice,” Pastrnak said. “Brad was a heck of a player, to tie him with the goals is amazing. I’m pretty sure I would still be chasing him a little bit if he was playing here. Like I said, he’s a heck of a Bruin, so it’s a pleasure for me to tie him. On the other hand, I was just happy I scored and getting my feel back a little bit.”

Because the game was important beyond the milestone for Pastrnak, five games into his tenure as captain of the team, five games in which he had not found the back of the net. The Bruins were coming off a disappointing performance against the Ottawa Senators at home on Monday, their second straight loss, and the game against the Mammoth was a chance to bounce back, for him and for the team.

So this, two goals and two assists from Pastrnak, an onslaught of power-play goals and a tight penalty kill against the NHL’s best power play of the young season, was needed.

“Really important,” coach Marco Sturm said after the Bruins’ 6-1 win at TD Garden. “I know he was not happy but he showed it today, the one went in, after that, then all of a sudden he was loose and happy and all of a sudden he had that flow, the rhythm in his game.

“That’s just how the brain works sometimes, especially in sports and in hockey. You only need one. Just like on the power play, you get one goal and all of a sudden you feel it. That’s just the way it is. I’m happy for him. He’s excited, he’s very honored, but there’s also a little bit of pressure too to having that 'C' on your jersey.”

Pastrnak now has six points (two goals, four assists) in five games this season, passing Wayne Cashman to move into eighth place on the Bruins’ all-time list with 517 assists.

“It was a big night for him,” Sturm said.

The first goal came at 14:22 of the first period when Frederic Brunet controlled the puck at the point and found Pastrnak at the top of the right circle for a wrister to make it 2-0. The second came at 4:40 of the second on a one-timer from forward Morgan Geekie just inside the left circle to make it 4-0.

It was a relief, to Pastrnak, to shoot, when he is still “finding the perfect mix, when to pass, when to look pass, and when to look just (at) the net. It was good to go in today and hopefully I can build from it.”

It is almost certain that he will, that there are still so many more goals and assists to come.

Pastrnak is just 30 years old, with four more years on his contract, with four consecutive 100-point seasons heading into this one.

“It’s tough to put into words,” Geekie said. “I’ve only known him for four or five years now but just to see the leader he’s become, especially after we got rid of 'Marshy' and those guys at the (2025 Trade) deadline, stepping up, him and Charlie (McAvoy).

“Just to see the way that he’s blossomed as a leader just attributes to how good of a player he can be. To have that on his plate and continue to perform and produce at the rate that he does. It’s not surprising to anybody in here, I don’t think, and he’s going to continue to be a great player for a long time.”

But this game went beyond Pastrnak.

It was just three nights earlier that, frustrated by their lackluster performance and struggles on the penalty kill, TD Garden had rained boos on these Bruins as they lost to the Senators. Not so on Thursday.

The Bruins had come into the game still searching for their first power-play goal four games into the season. They had gone 0-for-10, but against Utah went 3-for-4 on the power play while the Mammoth – who came in at 61.5 percent on the power play – went 0-for-7.

They chased starting goalie Sebastian Cossa after just 15:51, after he had allowed his third goal on just eight shots. Karel Vejmelka fared little better, allowing three goals of his own on 14 shots.

They had stopped a losing streak in its tracks, not like last season when three straight wins to open were followed by six consecutive losses.

“The season is so long and you know you’re going to go through ups and downs and it’s important to stay in the moment and make sure you respond, but at the same time, when things go well, don’t be too high,” Pastrnak said. “Just try to keep each other with a foot on the ground and make sure we keep getting better as a team every single day.”