( Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports )

By: Chad Jones I Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones

Six games into this Boston Bruins season, it will come as no surprise the team’s leading goal scorer is David Pastrnak. Number 88 has potted four goals and has corralled at least one point on four occasions. While it is a terrific sign that the 28-year-old winger has been finding the back of the net, Bruins fans should also be excited by how he has scored these goals.

Pastrnak’s first goal of the season came on a fortunate deflection while Boston was on a power play in the third period of their season-opener loss to the Florida Panthers. Against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden, Pastrnak blasted home a one-timer in between the face-off dots after a beautiful cycle and dish from Pavel Zacha.

Skating three on three against the Los Angeles Kings, Pastrnak snapped home his 10th career over-time game-winning goal after taking Mason Lohrei’s pass right in stride. His most recent lamp-lighter came against the Colorado Avalanche with Boston on the man advantage. While driving hard toward the blue paint, Pastrnak buried the puck into a wide-open cage by tapping home a slick backdoor feed from Hampus Lindholm.

While it is a small sample size, it is an encouraging trend to have Pastrnak’s primary role focused on finding the back of the net. The talented winger’s teammates were crucial to his tallies in all four goals.

Last season, Pastrnak put up an impressive 110 points while skating in all 82 regular-season games. And while he nearly missed tying his career-high in points, which is currently 113 he amassed during the 2022-2023 season, his goal production experienced a noticeable dip.

After Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both retired following that season, Pastrnak was tasked with greater responsibility within the Bruins’ offense. Skating mainly with Pavel Zazha and a rotating barrage of linemates, including Danton Heinen and Morgan Geekie, number 88 took it upon himself to increase his playmaking ability. He succeeded and corralled 63 assists, which currently stands as a career-best.

However, the downside of that reality was that Pastrnak scored 14 fewer goals than the season prior. While sharing a line with Krejci and Zazha, he potted 61 goals in the National Hockey League for the first time. Last season, he amassed 47 goals for the Black and Gold.

Now, that is not a disappointing number by any stretch. But Pastrnak was too responsible for the Bruins’ offensive out-put last year, which was one of the team’s most significant flaws. Opponents could focus so much on him that Boston often lacked a consistent second wave of scoring production if they slowed down the three-time all-star.

That is why signing Elias Lindholm was a critical move for the Bruins this past off-season. The center has accumulated five points over his first five games with Boston. Add his offensive skill set to Zacha and Pastrnak’s chemistry, and the offensive workload for the Bruins’ star winger diminishes drastically.

Pastrnak is a gifted goal scorer, a very talented passer, and operates on the ice with stunning vision. But he is still only one skater. And so far this season, Boston has done well in not putting too much offensive responsibility on his plate. Time will tell how effective the Bruins can be in this department throughout the 2024-2025 NHL season.