By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
During the Boston Bruins’ exciting 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night, David Pastrnak reached an impressive benchmark. The winger potted his 20th goal of the campaign, much to the delight of a revved-up TD Garden. Pastrnak hit the coveted 20-goal mark for the ninth straight season.
The milestone tally came from a familiar scoring area for Pastrnak. With both teams skating four aside, the payers had more ice to work with. Pavel Zacha corralled a rebound right in front of the crease. He then slid the puck over to Pastrnak, who had just stumbled but managed to regain his balance in the left faceoff circle. He then blasted a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy and drilled the back of the net.
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Pastrnak has not had his usual excellent scoring touch for much of this season. He has suffered through two different seven-game scoreless droughts. Last season, his longest stretch without a goal was five.
But he has rekindled his elite finishing ability, which he possessed at the start of the year. Pastrnak has scored seven goals in his past six games. While the winger must keep up his scoring prowess for the Bruins to succeed this season, this tally is also noteworthy from a historical perspective.
With yet another 20-goal season on his resume, Pastrnak now resides with some hallowed company in Bruins lore. He is currently tied with Ray Bourque for the fifth-most 20-goal campaigns in Boston’s history. Pastrnak needed 11 seasons to reach this threshold, whereas Bourque reached this mark during 21 years of patrolling Boston’s blue line.
Pastrnak trails Rick Middleton, who accomplished the feat ten times, Brad Marchand, who has reached the plateau on 13 occasions, Patrice Bergeron, who hit the 20-goal mark in 14 seasons, and Johnny Bucyk, who lit the lamp at least 20 times on 16 occasions dawning the Spoked-B. What is also impressive is how Pastrnak consistently reaches this total with ease.
Since the 2016-2017 season, the Czech winger’s first time reaching 20 goals, Pastrnak has only failed to corral 30 tallies once. During the shortened 2020-2021 season, he potted 20 goals in 48 contests during the NHL’s 56-game regular season. As long as he stays healthy, Pastrnak is well on his way to another 30-goal campaign this year.
Pastrnak, who will be 29 years old in May, is already the seventh most prolific goal scorer in Boston’s history, with 368 goals in 720 regular season games. He is less than 200 behind Bucyk, who sits atop with 545 career tallies. With Pastrnak’s current contract lasting through the 2030-2031 season, it remains a distinct possibility that he finishes his contract as the Bruins’ all-time leader in goals scored.
What stands out about Pastrnak’s nine-year stretch of at least 20 goals is how high he keeps the bar. Some years, especially this one, fans and the media get frustrated with his production level. Even hovering around a point per game is not deemed a success for the winger. But at season’s end, his stat line is impressive even in years when points do not come as easy. It will be fascinating to see where Pastrnak’s offensive production ranks in Bruins history when he decides to hang up his skates.
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