Connor McDavid is no longer alone. David Pastrnak hit the 50-goal mark on Sunday in a game between the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes.
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The Czech star had never accomplished this feat of arms since his professional debut. He still got his hands on the Maurice-Richard trophy in 2019-2020, following threading the needle 48 times in 70 duels.
At the same time, Pastrnak collected his 600th career point in his 583rd game in the Bettman circuit.
The last player to score 50 goals in a campaign with the Bruins is Cam Neely. He had reached this plateau in 1993-1994.
Pastrnak escaped in the first period once morest the “Canes” and was hooked by defender Brent Burns. The puck then gently slipped between Frederik Andersen’s pads.
The one who signed a contract extension worth $ 90 million at the beginning of the month added more in the second period, giving the lead to the “Oursons” in massive attack. All without the support of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, who were entitled to a day off.
Wearing the uniform of the Hartford Whalers, the “Canes” however responded through Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho in the third period.
Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle hit the mark in the shootout as the Bruins savored their 57th win of the campaign.
Jack Drury and Jakub Lauko also flashed the red light in this duel, respectively for the Hurricanes and Bruins.
Captain Tavares on a mission
In Nashville, the Toronto Maple Leafs were masterfully led by their captain, John Tavares, and triumphed by the score of 3 to 2 once morest the Predators.
The Mississauga native scored his 31st and 32nd goals of the campaign, including the winning goal late in the third period, in addition to being an accomplice of Alex Kerfoot.
In the shadow of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, Tavares is enjoying another excellent season with the Queen City side. With 75 points in 72 games, he is on track to reach 80 points for the fifth time in his career.
The former New York Islanders opened the scoring by completing a tic-tac-toe initiated by Matthews and Marner, in massive attack. It was also during a power play situation that he completed his double, jumping on a throwback in front of goalkeeper Kevin Lankinen.
Tyson Barrie came to haunt his old team at the end of the duel by cutting the gap in half, but the “Preds” might not complete their comeback. Cody Glass also rattled the ropes in the loss.
Good times for the Canucks
In Chicago, Elias Pettersson was instrumental in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Rick Tocchet’s men have won 10 of their last 12 games and don’t seem to want to let go, even though their chances of making the playoffs are slim.
Pettersson scored twice, each time assisted by his sidekick Andrei Kuzmenko. He has 93 points in 71 games in 2022-23, his best career campaign by far.
Brock Boeser and Phillip Di Giuseppe added goals for the ‘Nucks’, while Connor Murphy and Lukas Reichel provided the hosts’ cue.
