Boston Bruins
Talking Points: Bruins Beat Flyers 5-3, Break Wins Record
The 2022-23 Boston Bruins now hold the all-time regular season wins record after picking up their 63rd of the season by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Sunday night.
GOLD STAR: Connor McDavid has the Hart Trophy locked up but if the NHL awarded a second Hart Trophy, Boston Bruins superstar winger would have that one locked up. With his third hat-trick of the season and 15th of his NHL career, David Pastrnak is now the first 60-goal scorer for the Boston Bruins since Phil Esposito scored 61 in the 1974-75 NHL regular season. That hat trick also moves him into second place for most hat tricks by a Bruin. His 60th goal of the season was also his 300th goal since entering the NHL in the 2014-15 season and in game 590 for the 26-year-old, 6-foot-1, 195-pound Czech winger.
6️⃣0️⃣ GOALS AND THE HAT TRICK FOR DAVID PASTRNAK 🎩 pic.twitter.com/j8tjIkf735
— ESPN (@espn) April 10, 2023
For a third straight weekend, Boston Bruins superstar winger David Pastrnak put his team on his back and carried them while other veteran stars rested for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pastrnak scored two goals with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Hampus Lindholm not dressed in a 4-3 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 26. Then on April 1, Pastrnak got his 14th hat trick while Bergeron and David Krejci were out of the lineup. Now with Bergeron, Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, Taylor Hall, Dmitry Orlov, and Linus Ullmark out, Pastrnak had the hats flying again.
BLACK EYE: Apparently Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Nicolas DesLauriers either never got the fighter’s code memo or just doesn’t respect it? Whatever the case is, the rabbit punches he unloaded on Boston Bruins winger A.J. Greer while Greer was being held by the officials was absolutely classless. Forget the fact that Deslauriers is a true heavyweight and Greer is a middle-weight at best, you just don’t that!
Hell of a scrap between A.J. Greer and Nic Deslauriers pic.twitter.com/hWohWHLomg
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) April 10, 2023
TURNING POINT: There’s no doubt that Pavel Zacha’s 21st goal of the season – and third in his last two games – that made it 5-3 Boston Bruins at 16:56 of the third period gave the Bruins a nice cushion, but Pastrnak’s historic 60th and hat trick goal 39 ticks into the final frame likely let the Flyers they were officially the wrong kind of historic footnotes and deflated them.
HONORABLE MENTION: While the powerplay continues to struggle for the Boston Bruins, the league’s best penalty kill rolls on. After killing all four Flyers’ powerplays on Sunday, the penalty kill has now killed 38 straight powerplays. For those freaking out over the recent powerplay futility, go back and check what the 2011 Bruins powerplay looked like in the playoffs and what their penalty kill did. Relax!
BY THE NUMBERS: 63 – The 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning are now looking up at the 2022-23 Boston Bruins.
A NEW SINGLE-SEASON STANDARD. pic.twitter.com/AeCSSFgbMR
— p – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 10, 2023
QUOTE TO NOTE: “The record is amazing, but we’re building towards something bigger than the NHL record. That’s our focus.” – David Pastrnak