Through the first three games of the best-of-seven series against the Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins held a 2-1 series without the benefit of a David Pastrnak goal.
Sure, he had a couple of assists, but if the Bruins are going to have thoughts of a run in the Stanley Cup playoffs if they are able to get by the Capitals, then No. 88 is going to have to find the back of the net.
In Game 3 Friday night at the TD Garden, Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead early in the third period with a power play goal, his first of the series, on the way to a 4-1 Boston win for a 3-1 series lead over Washington.
Sunday night at Capital One Arena in Washington in Game 5, Pastrnak opened the scoring in the second period, and what a goal it was. What a move, what a net drive, and what a finish on Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov.
That's some disgusting 🍝 #NHLBruins | @pastrnak96 pic.twitter.com/frI3BjDFEl
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 24, 2021
My goodness. Where do we start? First Pastrnak makes a silly move around Nic Dowd, who won Game 1 for the Capitals with an overtime goal on May 15. After that, he makes a very good net drive, sweeps in front of Samsonov, and stuffed the puck inside the post. Again, this is some kind of insane goal.
Not only did the goal give the Black and Gold a lead, but it also moved Pastrnak into some elite company in franchise history. The goal was his 22nd career postseason goal, moving one goal ahead of Barry Pederson for most playoff goals under the age of 25 years old. First on that list? That would be current Bruins team President Cam Neely, who was at Capital One Arena Sunday night to see Pasta’s goal in person.
David Pastrnak is some kind of special player and his incredible talent was on display in Game 5 and allowed the Bruins to a second-period lead.