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Boston Bruins: Will Brad Marchand or David Pastrnak finish with more points?

By jc |
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 19: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 19: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 19: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 19: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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.

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.

BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 22: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) tAkes off with Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 22, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 22: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) tAkes off with Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 22, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Why Brad Marchand will finish with more points

Because Pastrnak pretty much scores every night, Brad Marchand’s impressive start to the season kind of flies under the radar.

Marchand sits only two points behind Pastrnak with 10 goals and 18 assists. While Pastrnak does so much damage on the power play, Marchand cleans up at even strength.

Through 16 games, Marchand has 19 even strength points. Eight of his 10 goals come from five-on-five play, so only two were on the power play.

Typically, even-strength production is more sustainable than power-play production. There’s no guarantee the Bruins will continue to average around three power play opportunities per game. This will help Marchand maintain consistency throughout the full season.

Part of the reason why Marchand is so productive at even strength is his puck possession. He always seems to have the puck on his stick when he’s on the ice. And when he has the puck, Marchand rarely loses it.

Here’s an example from last week’s win against the Penguins:

Evgeni Malkin attacks Marchand at the blue line, but Marchand cleverly maintains possession to set up Torey Krug for the game-tying goal.

Because he has the puck so much, Marchand consistently creates chances both for himself and his teammates. This won’t stop.

Since Marchand doesn’t rely on the power play as much for his production, there’s a great chance he will eventually overtake Pastrnak in total points at some point this season. If and when he does, Marchand won’t look back.

dark. Next. McAvoy-Grzeclyk on defense

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether Pastrnak or Marchand finishes with more points. All that matters is that both maintain their great play (and health!) throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.

But, for the sake of argument, Marchand’s the better-bet to end the season with more points because of his five-on-five play.

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