The Boston Bruins continued their dominant form, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at TD Garden on Tuesday to secure their seventh consecutive win. David Pastrnak scored both his 400th and 401st NHL goals, adding an assist as the Bruins improved to 11-7-0.
Toronto, meanwhile, struggled with injuries, losing Auston Matthews midway through the second period to a lower-body issue. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz exited in the first period due to an upper-body injury, replaced by Dennis Hildeby, who made 19 saves. The Maple Leafs dropped their third straight game, falling to 8-8-1.
“‘Pasta’ is obviously a special player,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said, according to NHL.com. “To score 400 goals in this league is pretty amazing, so we’re all really happy for him that he reached that milestone. Knowing him, he’s been probably thinking about that one for a long, long time. He’s such a good guy, too, and he means a lot to everyone here, not just our team, but also the organization and the fans. So, it was nice to do it at home as well.”
Pastrnak’s milestone
Pastrnak became the sixth player in Bruins history to reach 400 goals, joining Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Patrice Bergeron (427), Brad Marchand (422), and Rick Middleton (402).
“It really hit me when the guys came over,” Pastrnak said. “It was so cool what they did for me, and to top it off with a win is great.” Pastrnak’s second goal of the night and his power-play tally later in the third period sealed the 5-3 victory for Boston.
see also
NHL News: Senators GM Steve Staios sends strong message on team’s mindset without Brady Tkachuk
Bruins maintain offensive balance
The Bruins got off to an early start with Pavel Zacha’s power-play goal. Hampus Lindholm restored the lead to 2-1 on another man-advantage strike, while Alex Steeves scored his first goal as a Bruin.
SurveyDo you think David Pastrnak can continue his scoring streak and lead the Bruins to the top of the NHL standings?
Do you think David Pastrnak can continue his scoring streak and lead the Bruins to the top of the NHL standings?
ALREADY VOTED 0 PEOPLE
Toronto briefly threatened with goals from Bobby McMann and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but Pastrnak’s late power-play strike cemented Boston’s win and extended the team’s hot streak.
