For the third straight year, David Pastrnak scored forty goals, and the Boston Bruins defeated the fading Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Saturday.
The Bruins won two games in regulation after defeating Toronto 4-1 on Thursday—a feat they hadn’t accomplished since January 20 and 22. A year after they broke the league records for most victories (65) and total points (135), they are now competing for the top record in the NHL.
When it comes to scoring 40 goals once more, Pastrnak stated, “I won’t take it for granted, obviously.” “Scoring goals is my job, but I also don’t take it for granted because I play in the greatest league in the world.” I enjoy scoring, so even if it means nothing to me right now, it makes me happy.
Boston has 91 points, with two goals and one assist from Pavel Zacha. Linus Ullmark had 38 stops, and Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist.
Jim Montgomery, the Boston coach, described Ullmark as “our best player.” It wasn’t even close. I’m glad he remains a Bruin.
There were rumors on Friday that Ullmark was up for grabs.
When questioned about whether he made use of the no-trade clause in his contract, Ullmark replied, “I’m just very happy to be here.” “I want to be a part of this team.” I’m grateful to be a part of this group and have enjoyed my time here since Day 1. I’m content with my current situation.
Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang scored, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 17 saves. The Penguins have dropped to 13th place in the Eastern Conference, far below the eighth and last playoff slot, after dropping five of their last six games.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby stated, “We’ve got to find a way to just go a game at a time at this point. It’s a lot of work to get there.” “You are unable to seize every point at once.”
After sitting out the previous nine games due to an injury that was not made public, Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm is back in the starting lineup.
At 2:26 of the second half, Pastrnak scored his milestone goal by one-timing DeBrusk’s feed from the high slot and putting it over Nedeljkovic to make it 1-0.
At 12:48 of the second, Zacha scored a power-play goal with a chipped shot from the edge of the crease, making it 2-0. With 1:35 remaining in the frame, Marchand cut across the front of the net and placed a backhander into the upper right corner.
In a hectic first period, Ullmark made all 14 saves, including a glove save on Michael Bunting’s clean break-in. On Thursday night, Bunting was acquired in a deal with Carolina.
The Bruins added some beef at Friday’s trade deadline, acquiring veteran winger Patrick Maroon from Minnesota and defenseman Andrew Peeke from Columbus, in an attempt to find some spark after struggling to finish some games this past month. On Saturday, neither team participated.
Pat Maroon has a track record of success. He’s going to give our group a lot more leadership. He obviously possesses a lot of moxie as well,” Montgomery remarked.
Maroon won two titles with Tampa Bay, who played Boston in the playoffs, and the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019, after the team overcame Boston in seven games.
“It seems like I’m not liked here,” Maroon grinned. “With these guys, there’s obviously been a lot of fighting and chirping.”