3 Stars: David Pastrnak hits another milestone as Bruins fall to Rangers
A look at the top Bruins and Rangers from a 4-3 overtime final at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
Jan 3, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) during a stop in play against the Vancouver Canucks in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Bruins stole two points in a span of 12 seconds in last Saturday's comeback win over Montreal. So, in a weird way and in line with how this season has gone with its highs and lows, perhaps it's only fitting that the Bruins had a point stolen from them in New York on Monday.
It took a lot longer than 12 seconds, though, as the Bruins let the Rangers tie the game with just over six minutes left in the third period before they surrendered a late overtime goal for a "loser point" settling.
“We’ll take that point, but I thought we left a point behind," Bruins head coach Marco Sturm admitted following the defeat.
Here's a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game...
3rd Star: Urho Vaakanainen
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 26: Urho Vaakanainen sends a pass by Viktor Arvidsson during the second period at Madison Square Garden. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
With just 12:33 of time on ice, former Bruins defenseman Urho Vaakanainen didn't log a ton of ice time in this one. But he made his ice time count, as Vaakanainen shot the puck that was tipped by the Rangers' Will Cuylle for the first New York goal of the night, and finished this contest with a Ranger-best plus-2 rating.
Not the worst showing for the Finnish defenseman, especially considering that Vaakanainen was not expected to play in this one, and only got the call after the Rangers held Carson Soucy out of their lineup so they could trade him to the Islanders by the night's end.
2nd Star: Elias Lindholm
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 26: Elias Lindholm celebrates his second goal of the game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
After an up-and-down first year in town, it does feels like the Bruins are getting what they expected out of center Elias Lindholm this year.
On the board with a pair of goals in this one, Lindholm is now up to 11 goals and 37 points through 43 games this season. If Lindholm can continue to produce at that pace (0.86 points per game) and stay healthy from here on out, he could finish the season with 62 points in 72 games (an 82-game pace of 71 points). If you get that and Lindholm's faceoff success, you should be happy with the investment in him.
1st Star: David Pastrnak
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 26: Morgan Geekie of the Bruins retrieves the puck following his second period goal against Jonathan Quick. David Pastrnak #88 got the assist on the goal which was his 900th NHL point. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
For the second year in a row, it appears that Bruins superstar David Pastrnak is turning it on around the midway point of the year.
But Monday was not just about another multi-point outing for Boston's star wing, with primary assists on all three Boston goals for Pastrnak. It was instead about yet another milestone hit by No. 88, with Pastrnak's third and final helper of the night good for his 900th career NHL point.
With the three-helper night, Pastrnak also moved ahead of Rick Middleton on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list, and into sole possession of the six spot on the franchise’s points leaderboard. Pastrnak is also just the sixth player to record at least 900 points with the Bruins (obviously), and is now just 76 points behind Brad Marchand for the No. 5 spot.
Speaking globally here, Pastrnak is also just the third Czech-born player in NHL history to record 900 points as an NHLer, joining Devils legend Patrik Elias and hockey legend Jaromir Jagr on that list.
But going to this recent run here, Pastrnak has been on fire of late, and has been getting it done as a disher more than anything else, with six goals and 20 assists over his last 13 games played.
