Bruins Postgame: Pastrnak, Ullmark, Brazeau Huge in 6-2 Win

David Pastrnak notched a hat trick, and goalie Linus Ullmark made 30 saves in a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators for the Boston Bruins.

Forward Justin Brazeau also scored two goals and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists.

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Postgame:

CLUTCH: Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak now has the seventh-most goals in Boston Bruins history after registering his 17th career regular season hat trick and 19th overall in a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.

With his third goal of the game, which put the Boston Bruins up 4-2 4:43 into the third period, Pastrnak scored his 345th goal in 667 career games. That was also his second hat trick this season.

That mark for David Pastrnak surpassed Bruins hall of famer and current team President Cam Neely (344 in 525 games) for seventh-most goals in team history.

Goals No. 42, 43, and 44 on the season for David Pastrnak (@pastrnak96)! 🐻

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/Q9zoCW65Pg

— NHL (@NHL) March 20, 2024

Both Pastrnak’s first two goals and the third one were timely, as each stemmed momentum swings for the Senators. For those who don’t think the four-time NHL All-Star is clutch, maybe watch a bit more carefully. Pastrnak, Ullmark (see below), and Brazeau were the reasons this wasn’t as close a game on the scoreboard as it really was on the ice.

DOGHOUSE: The second period was ugly for the Bruins. If not for Ullmark (again, see below!), the Bruins could’ve actually lost this game. Yes, that sounds crazy after a 6-2 win, but after out-shooting the Senators 6-5 in the first period, the Bruins were out-shot 23-11 in the second period. With five minutes to go in the middle frame, the visitors were up 20-6 on the shot clock in the second period. Ullmark’s 21 saves and Brazeau’s first goal on the powerplay with 1:09 left in the period were the difference.

BANGER: Boston Bruins forwards Morgan Geekie, Jake DeBrusk, and Jakub Lauko, as well as Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, led all NHL skaters with five hits each.

UNSUNG HERO: This past Saturday I suggested that Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman should be given the chance to become the designated No. 1 goalie for the Boston Bruins. Well, his hugging partner Linus Ullmark has had other ideas in his last three starts. Ullmark made 39 saves in a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 9, then 19 saves in a 2-1 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday and now 30 saves in the win over the Senators. Meanwhile, Swayman has struggled, allowing nine goals on 51 shots in his last two starts. Since almost being traded leading into the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline, Ullmark is 3-0-0 with a .956 save percentage.

NEXT UP: The Bruins will welcome the New York Rangers on Thursday night with a chance to pull five points ahead of the Blueshirts in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.

Boston Bruins Lineup

Forwards

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk

Danton Heinen – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak

Trent Frederic – Morgan Geekie – Justin Brazeau

John Beecher – Jesper Boqvist – Jakub Lauko

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Kevin Shattenkirk – Andrew Peeke

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman