Bruins Postgame: Bruins Lose 4-3 (SO); Pastrnak Snipes Two

BOSTON, MA — In his preseason debut, Boston Bruins superstar winger David Pastrnak scored two goals, but the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in a shootout.

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now postgame.

Note: League scorekeepers at TD Garden were still updating the game stats, so apologies if they’re off.

CLUTCH: In his first preseason game, David Pastrnak picked up just where he left off after scoring a career-best 61 goals last season. After the Bruins fell behind 1-0 on a goal by former Boston University star Joel Farabee at 7:31, Pastrnak tied the game with a powerplay goal off a one-timer from fellow alternate captain Charlie McAvoy at 12:46. Pavel Zacha picked up the secondary assist on Pastrnak’s first of the season.

David Pastrnak ties it for the Bruins on the power play. pic.twitter.com/2gCboxKPki

— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) September 29, 2023

After Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling put his team up 2-1 at 17:27 of the first period, Pastrnak went to work again in the second period with a goal scorer’s goal that showed his fantastic hockey IQ. Sensing the Flyers were getting a little too lazy bringing the puck out of their zone, Pastrnak circled out of the zone, came back in to pick off a cross-zone pass, broke in alone, and sniped it past Flyers goalie Sam Ersson to tie the game again 7:40 into the second period.

David Pastrnak. Nasty pic.twitter.com/R9GrHaQ58a

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) September 30, 2023

BANGER: I don’t know about you, but Boston Bruins winger Jakub Lauko reminds me more and more of a younger Brad Marchand. He’s fearless, tenacious, and fast and increasingly shows some offensive flair to his game. On Friday night, though, the flair came through his fists as Lauko dropped the gloves and had a spirited fight with Flyers defenseman Louie Belpedio.

Nobody told Jakub Lauko this was just a pre-season game. I love this mf pic.twitter.com/Doh3NBrWW3

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) September 30, 2023

DOGHOUSE: It’s only preseason, so take this critique with a grain of salt, as no one really deserves to be in the doghouse right now. That being said, the penalty kill needs some work and clearly is missing one of the best penalty killers to ever lace them up in the NHL. The Bruins allowed the Flyers to go 2-for-3 on the powerplay and didn’t have much structure or pressure up high.

UNSUNG HERO: Playing on a professional tryout is no easy task, and this puck scribe has a lot of respect for players who never give up. Former Boston Bruins winger Danton Heinen is back in the Black and Gold on a PTO, and he did a lot on Friday night to secure a spot in the Bruins’ lineup or potentially another NHL roster. The 28-year-old winger gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead with five minutes left in the second period and finished with four shots.

Danton Heinen finds the back of the net, and the Bruins have a 3-2 lead. pic.twitter.com/PCOAl7ls2C

— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) September 30, 2023

KEY STAT: As mentioned above, the Bruins miss their former captain on the penalty kill, and as expected, they miss him on faceoffs. The Bruins went 33-37 at the dot. One good sign, though, is potential No. 1 center Pavel Zacha went 13-12.

IN THEIR WORDS: “Probably the biggest adjustment right now is the left shot on the bumper as opposed to the righty in Bergeron.” – Boston Bruins head coach Joe Sacco on what the most significant adjustment will be on the powerplay this season.

LINEUP:

Forwards

Anthony Richard-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand-Matthew Poitras-Danton Heinen

A.J. Greer-John Farinacci-Jakub Lauko

Brett Harrison-Georgii Merkulov-Alex Chiasson

Defense

Mason Lohrei-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Kevin Shattenkirk

Parker Wotherspoon-Reilly Walsh

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

Kyle Keyser