3 Stars: Is Pavel Zacha going to go down as Don Sweeney’s greatest heist?

There’s a whole lot of hockey to be played between now and Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

But if Tuesday night in Dallas, which featured a East-best vs. West-best showdown between the Bruins and Stars was a preview of what’s to come, how could any hockey fan complain about what potentially awaits them?

In Dallas in search of avoiding a post-break losing streak following last Saturday’s loss to the Capitals, the Bruins jumped out front in the first period of play, but quickly saw themselves in a hole behind goals from Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. And when you’re going up against Jake Oettinger, even a one-goal deficit seems pretty steep.

The Bruins found their opening, however, and took it behind a Pavel Zacha game-tying marker at the halfway point of the third period of play, and really took the game over from there, even if they didn’t get the result they wanted until overtime and behind a David Pastrnak bomb through Oettinger.

“We had shots and opportunities,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, who captured his 100th career victory as an NHL coach (and against the team that gave him his first NHL shot), said after the win. “We did deserve better and [Jake Oettinger] had a lot to say in that. We deserved better in the third period. [Dallas] was struggling to even reach the red line, especially in the last ten minutes. We started pouring it on. That’s Bruins hockey, that’s our identity.”

With the win, the Bruins captured their 40th victory of the season, and tied the 2015-16 Capitals as the fastest team to 40 wins in league history, accomplishing the feat in 53 games.

Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars of the game from a win in Big D (sans ‘& The Kids Table’)…

• No. 3 Star: David Pastrnak

  

  Feb 14, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) waits for the face-off in the Dallas Stars zone during the first period at the American Airlines Center. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

• I don’t know about you, but I always love seeing this top scorer vs. top scorer showdowns. Tuesday in Dallas gave us that, as it was the Bruins’ David Pastrnak (the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer behind Connor McDavid) and the Stars’ Jason Robertson (fifth in goals) going head-to-head in this contest.

  So when Robertson scored to make it 2-1 for the Stars, I was curious to see if Pastrnak would counter with one of his own.

  And No. 88 did not disappoint.

  Hit on the tape with a feed from Charlie McAvoy in the overtime, Pastrnak didn’t overthink it. He simply fired away, and beat Oettinger with an absolute missile to give the Bruins the victory.

• 88 THE GREAT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/UphZTkb6m6

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 15, 2023

• Sweet fancy Moses.

  For Pastrnak, that’s now 39 goals through 53 games played. He’s still behind McDavid for the league lead (though McDavid has played one more game this season), while a secondary assist on the Zacha game-tying goal made this a two-point night for Pastrnak and brought him up to 74 points on the year and into fifth-place on the league’s point leaderboard. Nobody’s touching McDavid and his league-leading 97 points, we know, but Pastrnak is now just five points away from tying the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl for the second-most points in hockey.

  And yes, we’re still waiting on that damn contract extension.

  (Get. It. Done.)

• No. 2 Star: Hampus Lindholm

  

  Feb 1, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports)

• This was one of those games that felt like you were watching early-season Hampus Lindholm.

  Now, that isn’t a knock on midseason Hampus Lindholm per se, but it felt like every time you looked up, Lindholm was in the middle of something positive for the Bruins as he often was when he had to lead the Boston defense in Charlie McAvoy’s absence.

  Deployed for 17:30 of five-on-five action, Lindholm was on the ice for a team-high 23 shot attempts for, 15 shots for, 17 scoring chances for, and five high-danger scoring chances for. He was also tied for the team-lead in on-ice goals for, as he was on the both for both of the B’s goals during regulation play.

  Lindholm also came through with an absolutely sweet feed to Taylor Hall for the goal that opened things up for the Bruins in this contest.

• That's one Swede feed. pic.twitter.com/6kUXAew7yL

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 15, 2023

• With an assist in the win, Lindholm also set a new single-season career-high in assists, with 28. He also tied his single-season career-high mark in points, with 34 on the season.

  Both previous single-season highs were set during his 2014-15 season with the Ducks.

  Of all the players who have benefitted from the switch from Bruce Cassidy and Kevin Dean to Jim Montgomery and John Gruden, Lindholm has got to be near the top of the list. And then some.

• No. 1 Star: Pavel Zacha

  

  Feb 14, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) and center David Krejci (46) and b8#2 and defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) celebrates after Zacha scores the game tying goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

• Listen, I know we’ve been over it again and again now (especially with the season he’s had), but the Bruins acquired Pavel Zacha from the Devils in exchange for journeyman forward Erik Haula. A one-for-one swap. No added picks, no added prospects. Not even a pick swap. Just a straight one-for-one move.

  Larceny. Grand larceny, even.

  A fantastic fit from the jump, Zacha continued his point-producing ways Tuesday night with the game-tying goal and an assist on the Pastrnak overtime winner. Both were equally impressive, but for different reasons. On the game-tying goal, Zacha unloaded his absolute (and criminally underrated) bomb of a shot when the Bruins needed it most. This isn’t the first time that Zacha has busted out that weapon this year, and the Bruins have hit the point where they’re encouraging Zacha to shoot, shoot, shoot. Even when playing with a guy like Pastrnak.

  And on the game-winning goal, you saw Zacha collect the puck in his own zone, break it up on a rush through the neutral zone, and hit Pastrnak (who then hit Charlie McAvoy) on the way to the goal. That’s confidence in that rush, and confidence to be the on-ice leader versus the complementary piece.

  “[Zacha] was outstanding all night,” Montgomery offered after the victory. “He took pucks to hard areas. The goal was great, but he had a couple of plays where he was taking it to the net, and Oettinger made really good saves on him. He was dangerous all night long.  He’s one of our main penalty killers, and he’s a big part of what they were able to do tonight.”

• Zacha with some ZIP! pic.twitter.com/Tl8Q3p0HEy

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 15, 2023

• The two-point night also set a new single-season career-high in points for the 25-year-old Czech, too, as he’s now up to 37 points on the campaign. That’s 37 points and through 53 games played, meaning at this current pace, Zacha is set to beat his previous career-high by a staggering 21 points or so.

  The Bruins also improved to 8-1-1 when Zacha records at least a goal, 8-0-0 when he records at least two points, and 24-2-2 when he records a goal or an assist in any game this season.

  Zacha also continues to reward the Bruins for their faith and investment in Zacha by way of a four-year extension signed last month, as Zacha is now up to seven goals and 12 points in 11 games post-extension. His seven goals since then are tied for fifth-most in the NHL, while his 12 points are tied for 25th-most in the NHL.

  Oh, and did I mention that the Bruins acquired him in a one-for-one involving Erik Haula?

• Zacha up to seven goals and 12 points in 11 games since signing his extension with the Bruins. Seven goals are tied for 5th-most in NHL, 12 points are tied for 25th-most.

  — Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 15, 2023