David Pastrnak lead their team, and the NHL, in total points. Can each player keep it up? If so, who will finish the season with more points?
Take a look at the current points leaders in the NHL to see the main reason why the Boston Bruins are one of the best teams in the league.
Through the first 16 games of the season, David Pastrnak leads the league with 30 points. In third place, only two points behind Pastrnak, is his linemate Brad Marchand.
Pastrnak and Marchand are in the middle of fantastic offensive seasons. They are both on pace for over 100 points, and they look ready to lead Boston to great things this year.
Can Pastrnak and Marchand keep this production up? And if they can, which one will finish with more points this season?
Why David Pastrnak will finish with more points
No player has more points in the NHL right now than David Pastrnak. He averaged almost two points per game so far, thanks in large part to his work on the power play.
Pastrnak has nine power play goals, which is the most in the league. He scores a big chunk of these goals from the same spot and in the same way. Pastrnak lines up to the right of the goal, opens up for the one-timer, and fires shots into the net. Whether he goes top-self or five-hold, it doesn’t matter: the goalie won’t save it.
Make it 15 goals in 15 games for David Pastrnak. pic.twitter.com/jrfXHnx5iz
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 6, 2019
There’s no reason at all to think Pastrnak’s power play production will stop. The Bruins undoubtedly will get opportunities with the manage advantage, and they will always use Pastrnak as the first option.
Pastrnak also has four assists on the power play, and this gives him a total of 13 power play points. Boston has 17 total power plays goals! This means Pastrnak accounts for 76% of Boston’s power play production.
Let’s do some math. The Bruins had 55 power play opportunities through 16 games, so they are on pace for about 282 total opportunities. If Pastrnak maintains his power play production, he’ll finish with 67 power play points! That’s crazy.
Marchand currently has nine power play points, which is a big number in only 16 games. But, he can’t match Pastrnak with the man advantage.
As long as Pastrnak stays healthy, Marchand won’t catch him on the power play. This will be the big difference why ultimately Pastrnak will finish with more points.