Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak takes place among Atlantic’s elite

Auston Matthews. Mitch Marner. Nikita Kucherov. Steven Stamkos. Jack Eichel. Even Aleksander Barkov.

Those are the names people mention whenever they talk about the talented forwards in the Atlantic Division. And rightfully so. Each brings a unique element to his team and to the league as a whole.

One name, however, always seems to be missing: David Pastrnak. Even after three straight seasons of at least 34 goals, people rarely place Pastrnak in that group of elites.

Maybe it’s because he wasn’t a top five pick. Maybe it’s because he didn’t sign a $10 million per year contract. Maybe it’s because he plays with future-Hall-of-Fame teammates.

For whatever reason, people usually don’t place Pastrnak with the likes of Matthews and Kucherov. But that’s about to change.

No forward in the Atlantic started the season like Pastrnak. Not Matthews, not Marner, not even Kucherov. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a forward in the NHL who’s outplayed Pastrnak to this point. It’s no surprise he was the NHL’s number one star last week.

So far, Pastrnak has 10 goals in only nine games. That puts him number one in the league. If he keeps this pace, Pastrnak will score 91 goals this season! He, of course, won’t keep up this pace, but the point remains. Pastrnak is simply on a different level right now.

This different level was on display over the last three games. Pastrnak followed up a four game goal against Anaheim with impressive performances against Tampa Bay and Toronto.

Last Thursday versus the Lightning, Pastrnak had two goals and one assist. Then, in the home-and-home with Toronto, he combined for two goals and two assists.

All in all, Pastrnak finished with four goals, three assists, and seven total points against Boston’s main competitors in the Atlantic Division.

Fittingly, Pastrnak enjoyed these performances against some of the aforementioned darlings of the division. How did he compare?

Kucherov and Stamkos combined for one assist in last Thursday’s game; Pastrnak had three points.

Matthews and Marner had three assists in the first game but nothing in the second; Pastrnak had four points himself, including point number 300 of his career.

Pastrnak saved his best play for the most important games of the young season. He went toe to toe against the Atlantic’s top talents, and he emerged as the star.

Maybe now Pastrnak will finally get the credit that he deserves. Time and time again he continues to prove that he’s among the elite goal-scoring forwards in the Atlantic. The track record already speaks for itself.

But who am I kidding? Pastrnak can score just as many goals as Matthews this year, and people still won’t put them in the same conversion. Bruins fans will be fine with that, as it’s a team game after all. And has anybody been more valuable to him team so far this year than Pastrnak?