David Pastrnak Named First Star Of The Week

Boston Bruins forward David ‘Pasta’ Pastrnak exploded for seven goals and two assists in three games over the last week and on Monday, the NHL recognized the Bruins winger’s performance by naming him the NHL’s ‘First Star’ of the week.

Pastrnak’s nine points were the most of any NHLer over the last week and as of Monday, the 23-year-old led the NHL with nine lamplighters. Pastrnak was also first in power play goals and power play points last week, with four goals and six points.

All of Pastrnak’s points have come in the Bruins’ last six games with a four-goal outing against the Anaheim Ducks October 14 in a 4-2 Bruins win and two three-point games, with a goal and two assists in a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on October 8 and then scored twice and added a helper in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Thursday. The Bruins are 3-1-2 during Pastrnak’s point streak.

The four-goal game against the Ducks tied the franchise record, set by 18 other players and last accomplished by Patrice Bergeron on January 6, 2018. The game also prompted many to start to put Pastrnak in the same breath as Washington Capitals captain and superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who is the greatest goal scorer of the salary cap era and one of the best ever. Pastrnak shrugged that comparison off but acknowledged that he is striving for such greatness.

“No, I wouldn’t call it rival him, but, I definitely want to get to that point as a player,” a humbled Pastrnak said when asked if he’s about to ‘rival’ Ovechkin’s status as the premier goal-scorer in the NHL. “I think I can. It just will take time. Like I said, I think I can do it. Like I said, I’m not gonna rival a guy like Ovie. He’s a special player and has been on top for a long time in the league and he’s one of a kind.”

Pastrnak connected on four of five shots Monday but as he pointed out to a playoff-size media scrum after the game, he may have volume in shots and have a high success rate some games, but in others, he could go 0-for-5. Ovechkin, on the other hand, may struggle to accumulate shots on a game-by-game basis, but even if he gets just one off on net, he lights the lamp.

“Some games he get one chance a game and it’s in the net, ya know,” Pastrnak said of Ovechkin, who has five four-goal games on his resume. “That’s I think the biggest thing, sometimes I get four chance and it’s not in the net. So that’s the one thing, he can have a bad game, but he get one chance and he get a goal.”

Pastrnak will have a chance to continue his point streak Tuesday night when the Bruins host the Maple Leafs, whom they lost to 4-3 in a shootout Saturday up in Toronto. The Bruins then play the St. Louis Blues Saturday night at TD Garden in a rematch of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

David Pastrnak (@NHLBruins), John Carlson (@Capitals), Carter Hutton (@BuffaloSabres) named “Three Stars” for week ending Oct. 20. https://t.co/NvsrG0CrYn pic.twitter.com/CpN8WGATBc

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 21, 2019