David Pastrnak’s climb up the Bruins’ all-time goals list comes with a reminder of just how many big moments he has already stacked up in Boston.
After moving into third place on the franchise leaderboard, the star winger sat down with NESN and picked his three favorite goals from his career. The list had a little bit of everything: a nasty one-on-one move, a perfectly timed give-and-go with a former teammate and, at the top, one of the biggest playoff goals in recent Bruins memory.
No. 3 on Pastrnak’s list was the slick move he put on Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson on Feb. 23, 2023. It was the kind of play that has become part of Pastrnak’s identity - quick hands, creativity and the ability to make defenders look helpless when he gets rolling with the puck.
His No. 2 choice didn’t even come from a goal he scored himself. Pastrnak went with a sequence involving David Krejci on Nov. 29, 2019, when Boston erased a two-goal deficit to beat the New York Rangers 3-2.
Pastrnak scored his NHL-leading 24th goal of the season, then helped set up Krejci’s overtime winner just 1:40 into the extra period. Krejci had set up Pastrnak’s tying goal through the slot before Pastrnak returned the favor.
At No. 1, there was no debate about the magnitude of the moment. Pastrnak chose his overtime winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 4, 2024. With the Bruins and Maple Leafs deadlocked late in the winner-take-all game, Pastrnak finished it in overtime and sent Boston into the second round.
For a player with so many memorable highlights already on his resume, it makes sense that a Game 7 winner sits at the top of the list.
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