David Pastrnak shoots the puck more than anyone else in the league, or at least that’s the case prior to Friday night’s slate of games. So far, he’s got 208 shots on goal, and 23 goals to show for it. Not his greatest career mark, but it ain’t a bad one either.
Behind Pastrnak, you’re not getting many productive goal-scorers in Boston. And there’s a chance none of them will hit the 20-goal mark in 2024-25 should they keep lacking a consistent game.
But that doesn’t mean a few of them won’t break the threshold at some point during the second half of the season. Brad Marchand, 17 goals, looks like the next shoo-in to hit 20, so long as he can keep away from a perpetual cold streak throughout roughly the last 9-10 weeks of the season.
Nobody has a better chance to be the Bruins second 20-goal scorer than Marchand, but two players, in a worst-case scenario, should get close. The names in question are Morgan Geekie and Charlie Coyle.
Three Boston Bruins players can join David Pastrnak in the 20-goal-club
Geekie and Coyle look like they might break the 20-goal threshold if you check their respective shooting percentages. Geekie is clocking in at 14.6 and Coyle sits at an incredible 16.9. The problem is, they’ve only logged 89 and 71 shots on goal, respectively.
Two players on the outside and looking in are Pavel Zacha and Justin Brazeau, who have 11 and 10 goals, respectively. Both are also rocking solid shooting percentages of 12.0 and 14.9, so it’s just a matter of firing the puck at the net more.
If you want my honest prediction of who’s getting there, I’m rolling with Marchand, who could realistically see 20 goals by the time the 4 Nations Face-Off rolls around. I’ll also be the middleman and say that Morgan Geekie won’t get there, but Charlie Coyle starts seeing more looks, takes advantage, and just gets past it.
At this point, Zacha and Brazeau are too far behind, and unless they enjoy a hot month or even couple of weeks, they’ll most likely find themselves left off this list. So, anticipate Marchand to get over the threshold sooner rather than later, with Coyle following.
Zacha, Brazeau, and Geekie will get close and likely end up around the 16-18-goal mark, but nothing more. As for David Pastrnak? I’ll have some fun and predict he’ll end the year with 35-plus.