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Joe Murray

Joe Murray: David Pastrnak Shines Again on Opening Night

Author Joe Murray
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 11: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins checks Wyatt Kaiser #44 of the Chicago Blackhawks into the boards during the first period of the Bruins home opener at TD Garden on October 11, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Bruins kicked off their centennial season with a 3-1 win over Chicago last night at TD Garden. Plenty of new faces were on display, a familiar face who did the damage on opening night.

David Pastrnak scored the go ahead goal and the empty netter to seal the victory. One thing that came away from last year’s disappointing season was a long term contract extension with the right wing. He scored 61 goals last season and started his 9th season in Boston with a pair.

Chicago Blackhawks v Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 11: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins talks with David Pastrnak #88 before the Bruins home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden on October 11, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

 

As referenced below by my great colleague Ty Anderson. Pastrnak should be named Mr. Opening Night. He has 13 points with seven goals and six assists over his career in the first game of the season. 

2015 6-2 loss to Winnipeg

One goal

2016 6-3 win vs Columbus

Two goals – Two assists – Eight shots

2018 7-0 loss vs Washington

1 goal on three shots

2021 3-1 win vs Dallas

One assist

2022 5-2 win vs Washington

One goal – three assists

2023 3-1 win vs Chicago

Two goals

Ty Anderson on Twitter: "It's the year 2015. Milan Lucic to David Pastrnak and the Bruins take a 2-1 lead. Opening Night Pastrnak is officially a thing: This is his 8th Opening Night. He now has six goals and 12 points in eight Opening Night contests. / Twitter"

It's the year 2015. Milan Lucic to David Pastrnak and the Bruins take a 2-1 lead. Opening Night Pastrnak is officially a thing: This is his 8th Opening Night. He now has six goals and 12 points in eight Opening Night contests.

The Bruins trailed early after Connor Bedard’s first career goal on the wrap-around. The B’s responded, Brandon Carlo’s shot was tipped in front of the net by Trent Frederick to even the score at one.

The offense was stalling, Jim Montgomery made a change.

He moved Milan Lucic on a line with Pastrnak and Marchand. Lucic made an excellent pass in the zone that Pastrnak ripped from the dot to make it 2-1. It was his first shot of the four he had on the night. The final goal was a nice flip from Brad Marchand to Pastrnak and sent everyone home.

What else would you expect from Mr. Opening Night. 

3 Stars: Opening Night Pastrnak shines for Bruins once again

With dozens of the franchise legends in the house and looking on, Jim Montgomery and the Bruins made sure they ended a night that started with a celebration of 100 years of Bruins hockey in the best way possible: with a win.

“I thought the ceremony was fantastic,” Montgomery said following his team’s victory. “A great tribute to the 100 years of great players. I thought it was great that, the unfortunate ones that couldn’t be with us, that family members represented them. And, you know, to see Cam Neely and Ray Bourque and Johnny Bucyk and Terry O’Reilly and Bobby Orr, you know, what an ovation he got. Well-deserved. But it makes you feel special to be a Bruin. And even though it was a long process, I could feel it on the bench.”

READ MORE

– Anderson: Why I’m still high on the Bruins in the post-Bergeron, Krejci era

– Meet the Bruins’ Opening Night roster

– 5 questions about the Bruins entering the 2023-24 season

The long wait, along with some pregame jitters for all involved, led to what was best described as an uneven start. The puck was bouncing, bodies were flying, and it felt like a game of who’ll blink first. It was hardly a masterpiece from the B’s — speaking after the win, Montgomery called his team’s game ‘very average’ — but the Bruins buckled down when they needed to, and put forth a strong third-period effort to seal the deal on this one.

And in what was a continuation of last year’s record-breaking regular season, the team once again got strong goaltending from Linus Ullmark, who turned aside all but one of the 21 shots he faced in the winning performance.

Ullmark’s best save of the evening came in the third period, too, with the Bruins protecting a one-goal lead and the Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard bearing down on him in what was a partial breakaway opportunity.

With the win, the Bruins extended their Opening Night win streak to five games, with Boston’s last Opening Night loss coming back in 2018, and at the hands of the Capitals in what was a 7-0 beatdown.

Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a 3-1 win at TD Garden…

  • No. 3 Star: Milan Lucic

    Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with left wing Milan Lucic (17) during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

    Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with left wing Milan Lucic (17) during the second period against the Blackhawks at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

  • What a first game back in Boston — and back in a Bruins sweater — for Milan Lucic.

    Given one of the loudest ovations of the pregame festivities, Lucic made sure he provided more than nostalgia Wednesday night. Riding on a fourth line with Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko for the start of the night, the line dominated the first frame, and actually finished with a 4-0 advantage in on-ice shots.

    It was enough to earn Lucic a promotion up to the Zacha-Pastrnak line, where he came through with the primary helper on the Pastrnak tally that held as the game-winning goal by the night’s end.

    The apple was also good for Lucic’s first point in a B’s uniform since Mar. 31, 2015.

    Another underrated element of Lucic’s game: His ability to possess the puck along the wall. It allowed the Bruins to extend their attacking-zone time, and really opened the ice up for some quality chances.

  • No. 2 Star: Hampus Lindholm

    BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 11: Hampus Lindholm #27 of the Boston Bruins defends Taylor Raddysh #11 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period of the Bruins home opener at TD Garden on October 11, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

    BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 11: Hampus Lindholm #27 of the Bruins defends Taylor Raddysh #11 of the Blackhawks during the second period of the Bruins home opener at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

  • Drawing the Connor Bedard assignment was going to be tough for any Boston defenseman in this one. But it was one hell of a game for Hampus Lindholm (and his pairing partner Brandon Carlo for that matter), who downright dominated the night at both end of the ice, in this contest.

    Deployed for 16:37 of five-on-five action, the Bruins maintained a 38-15 shot attempt advantage, 19-9 shot advantage, and 2-0 edge in goals with Lindholm on the ice. And that came with Lindholm having the second-lowest offensive-zone faceoff percentage among all Bruins.

    But what was most impressive among that five-on-five excellence: 10:43 of it came against the Blackhawks’ Bedard, and during that stretch, Lindholm and the Bruins outshot Chicago 11-7, and out-chanced them 9-6. Keeping in mind that Bedard finished his NHL debut with a game-high 0:50 of offensive-zone possession (per ESPN), that’s nothing to sneeze at.

    Lindholm also finished the night with a game-high plus-3 rating, while his three shots on goal were tied for the second-most among all Boston skaters, trailing only Pastrnak and his four shots on goal.

  • No. 1 Star: David Pastrnak

    Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates with left wing Brad Marchand (63) after their 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

    Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates with left wing Brad Marchand (63) after their 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

  • There’s just something about Opening Night that gets the blood flowing for David Pastrnak.

    Skating in what was his eighth career Opening Night contest, Pastrnak carried the Bruins with the game-winning goal and then the insurance marker of the empty-net dagger, and finished this game with nine total shot attempts (tops among all Bruins and Blackhawks). And as he has many times, No. 88 made scoring look downright easy, with his second-period snipe on Chicago’s Arvid Soderblom looking downright effortless.

    But again, perhaps this is what you should’ve expected from Opening Night Pastrnak.

    With the two-goal performance, Pastrnak’s eight-game run on Opening Night now features seven goals and 13 points. I hope you hammered ‘Pastrnak anytime goal’ on whatever betting app you use. And if you didn’t, fear not, because Boston’s top goal-scoring threat is currently signed for another seven Opening Nights in town.

Joe Murray has worked behind the scenes and on-air in New England since 2007. Murray was born and raised in Boston (Hyde Park) and is now living on the North Shore in Peabody. A graduate of CSB School of Broadcasting, Joe was hired at 98.5 The Sports Hub in 2011 and is the host of Patriots Postgame and the Over/Under Podcast with Dan Lifshatz. Joe was hired as the full-time night show host in 2023, and a featured guest for “The Weekly Spread” on NBC Sports Boston during football season. Joe writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.

Listen to Joe Murray 6-11 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @JoeyMurr on Twitter to keep up with the show!

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