The Boston Bruins picked up two points Monday night thanks to an amazing goal by a rising star.
B’s forward David Pastrnak scored a fantastic goal in overtime to give the Bruins a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers in overtime, much to the delight of the TD Garden crowd. It was his second goal of the game, and also marked just the eighth time the Bruins have reached the three-goal mark this season.
Boston improved to 15-10-1 with the victory, while Florida dropped to 12-11-3.
Here’s a recap of Bruins-Panthers.
SCHALLER STRIKES FIRST
Tim Schaller opened the scoring with a goal at 18:32 of the first period. It was his fourth goal of the season.
David Krejci picked up an assist on the goal, giving him four points (two goals, two assists) in the last five games. This goal also was the second scored by the Schaller-Krejci-Backes line in as many games.
DOWN A D-MAN
The Panthers lost top-four defenseman and Boston native Keith Yandle to a lower body injury in the first period. The team later announced he wouldn’t return to the game. Yandle’s 22:08 ice time per game ranks second on the Panthers. His loss also hurts a power play that already ranks 27th in success rate.
A LEGEND TIES IT AND PASTA ANSWERS BACK
Jaromir Jagr tied the score 1-1 with his fifth goal of the season at 9:44 of the second period. He now has 34 goals and 67 assists in 83 career games versus Boston.
The Bruins went into the intermission with a lead, though, as Pastrnak scored his 14th goal of the season off a nice pass by Brad Marchand. Patrice Bergeron also earned an assist.
BACK AND FORTH
The Panthers tied the game 2-2 with a sweet shot by former No. 2 overall draft pick Aleksander Barkov. It was Barkov’s 11th point (two goals, nine assists) in the last 14 games.
The Bruins responded less than six minutes later when David Backes tipped a Ryan Spooner shot past Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo to give Boston its third lead of the game.
Florida didn’t go down easily, though. Offseason signing Jason Demers scored the tying goal with 1:29 remaining in regulation.
OVERTIME HERO
Pastrnak, as mentioned, ended the game with a highlight-reel goal in overtime. It was his 15th goal of the campaign.
He’s now in sole possession of third place on the NHL’s goal leaderboard. The only players who have more goals than Pastrnak are Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine with 16 apiece.
UP NEXT
The Bruins travel to Washington to play the Capitals on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on NBCSN.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
