Talking Points: Bruins Check Out Of Hotel California With Six Points

Here are the Talking Points after the Boston Bruins checked out of the Hotel California with a three-game sweep and six more points to pad their lead as the best team in the NHL. David Pastrnak led the way with a hat trick and the Bruins beat the Anaheim Ducks 7-1.

GOLD STAR: If J.P. Barry wasn’t going all Jerry McGuire on Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney yet, he will be on Monday. Barry’s client and Bruins star winger David Pastrnak continues to make a solid case to become the highest paid player in the NHL. After lighting the lamp twice in a 4-2 Bruins win over the San Jose Sharks, Pastrnak notched a hat trick and with his 32nd goal, pulled to within a goal of the league leader and Edmonton Oilers star forward Connor McDavid.

30 goals in 40 games for David Pastrnak.

1-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/PYtQSbxdsi

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 9, 2023

The Bruins star winger, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, also added an assist in another case to make him a Hart Trophy candidate. Pastrnak absolutely dominated on this three-game swing through the Golden State. With his four-point night on Sunday, Pastrnak finished the three-game roadie with seven goals and an assist. Pastrnak also passed the 30-goal mark for a sixth time, which is the fourth most in Boston Bruins history.

30-goal seasons | #NHLBruins history

▪️ Phil Esposito | 8
▪️ Rick Middleton | 8
▪️ Johnny Bucyk | 7
▪️ Cam Neely | 6
▪️ Peter McNab | 6
▪️ Patrice Bergeron | 6
▪️ @pastrnak96 | 6 pic.twitter.com/9E3IciKe6j

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 9, 2023

BLACK EYE: By no means is this puck scribe going to throw this loss or the dismal season the Anaheim Ducks are in on goalie John Gibson. That being said, for a team that’s in a rebuild and is definitely shopping Gibson on the NHL trade market, performances like this (seven goals on 42 shots), can’t help the cause.

TURNING POINT: The two goals by Pastrnak in 17 seconds that led to his hat trick cemented the doubt that was already creeping into the Ducks’ heads and broke open a 2-1 game. Once again, Pastrnak’s explosiveness proved to a game-breaker and the Ducks were left shell-shocked.

David Pastrnak has his second of the game.

No. 31: pic.twitter.com/tHiY6Qzxu6

— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) January 9, 2023

HONORABLE MENTION: From warmups until the final horn, if you closed your eyes and just listened to this game, you’d have sworn you were at TD Garden or watching a home game for the Boston Bruins. ‘Let’s go Bruins!’ was prevalent throughout the Honda Center in Anaheim all night. When Pastrnak got the hat trick though, the crescendo of Bruins fans cheering reached peak level and hats flooded the ice. Bruins fans in Anaheim on Sunday night definitely represented!

Hats all over the ice in Anaheim (roughly 3,000 miles from Boston) for David Pastrnak’s hat trick: pic.twitter.com/j2OrPsU2Fw

— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) January 9, 2023

BY THE NUMBERS: 254 – The number of days between NHL games for Boston Bruins winger and Walpole, MA native Chris Wagner after returning to the league on Sunday night.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We are playing well, and we are a heck of a team,” – David Pastrnak on NESN postgame.