The Boston Bruins have more reason to celebrate their captain as their red-hot start to the season perseveres.
David Pastrnak reached a momentous franchise milestone Saturday, Oct. 24, matching Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron for third place on Boston’s all-time goals list.
The 30-year-old superstar scored his 427th career regular-season goal during the third period of Boston’s thrilling 6-4 victory over the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden.
Pastrnak’s historic tally helped spark an unlikely comeback, with Boston scoring four times in the final period to secure its ninth victory of the season.
Plus, the milestone places the Bruins’ newest captain alongside one of the most respected players in franchise history.
Pastrnak Joins Bergeron in Bruins History
Pastrnak’s milestone came to fruition at a pivotal moment Saturday night.
Boston trailed San Jose 3-2 after former Bruins defenseman Dmitry Orlov put home a power-play goal at 4:03 of the third period.
But Pastrnak needed just over four minutes to wipe out that deficit.
At 8:27, he exited the penalty box following a tripping infraction, and the Czech winger received a pass from JJ Peterka and fired a wrist shot past Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from the right circle.
The goal tied the contest at 3-3 while simultaneously allowing Pastrnak to match Bergeron’s 427 career regular-season goals with Boston.
According to The Associated Press, the historic score was Pastrnak’s seventh goal of the young season.
The achievement leaves only two players ahead of him on Boston’s all-time list.
Johnny Bucyk remains the franchise leader with 545 goals, followed by Phil Esposito with 459. Pastrnak now needs just one more goal to move past Bergeron into sole possession of third place.
Interestingly, the milestone comes barely two weeks after Pastrnak matched another former Bruins captain.
During Boston’s Oct. 9 victory over the Utah Mammoth, Pastrnak scored his 422nd career goal, tying longtime teammate Brad Marchand for fourth place in franchise history.
“It’s nice,” Pastrnak said of matching Marchand, per NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin.
Pastrnak went on to praise Marchand’s contributions to Boston, speaking to how much he respected his former teammate.
Bruins Extend Remarkable Point Streak After Pastrnak’s Goal
Pastrnak’s historic night helped Boston escape an arduous encounter.
Just 40 seconds after the captain tied the game, rookie James Hagens scored at 9:07 of the third period to give the Bruins a 4-3 advantage.
Fraser Minten subsequently added a power-play goal at 12:00, giving Boston a two-goal cushion.
Although San Jose’s Will Smith responded just 27 seconds later, defenseman Will Borgen sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
The Bruins also received goals from Casey Mittelstadt and Marat Khusnutdinov, demonstrating the offensive depth that has become important during their recent success.
Saturday’s victory improved Boston to 9-2-1 and extended its point streak to eight consecutive games, with seven victories during that stretch.
And Pastrnak continues to serve as a critical feature of that offensive resurgence.
The veteran winger entered Saturday’s matchup fresh off a four-point performance against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, Oct. 22, when he registered two goals and two assists in a dominant 6-0 victory.
Head coach Marco Sturm has discussed the pressure associated with Pastrnak’s new leadership responsibilities.
“He’s excited, he’s very honored, but there’s also a little bit of pressure too,” Sturm told NHL.com on Oct. 9, referring to the captaincy.
Bruins’ David Pastrnak Ties 19-Year All-Timer as Points Streak Extends