David Pastrnak no longer is a budding star, rather a full-fledged one. And during Wednesday’s game, he etched his name into the Boston Bruins record books.
The 22-year-old winger tallied the first goal of the game in the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. And in scoring that goal, the 121st of his career, Pastrnak set the franchise record for most goals prior to their 23rd birthday, passing Barry Pederson.
Certainly some elite company.
One has to think that Pastrnak will make it even tougher for the next set of youngsters to pass him, as well. He won’t turn 23 until May of this year, meaning he has the rest of the regular season to continue to build that separation between him and Pederson.
And considering the Bruins have Pastrank signed through the 2022-23 season, suffice to say he has plenty more time to firmly secure his place in the franchise’s folklore.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Bruins-Flyers game:
— Peter Cehlarik was recalled from the AHL on Tuesday, and he made head coach Bruce Cassidy’s move to slot him into the lineup pay off.
The 23-year-old was the latest winger to slide into the second-line’s revolving door alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. Cassidy made the move to scratch David Backes, and Cehlarik responded by scoring two goals in the loss to the Flyers.
His first tally came in the first period. DeBrusk sent a pass from face-off dot to face-off dot, and Cehlarik ripped a one-timer past Flyers netminder Carter Hart. Then with the net empty, just over a minute to play in the third period and the Bruins trailing 4-2, Cehlarik pulled his team back within one. Brad Marchand threw a puck toward the net from the far edge of the right face-off circle, and Cehlarik redirected it right on the doorstep.
Whether Cehlarik proves to be a stable, long-term option on the second line remains to be seen, but Wednesday’s performance should be an encouraging sign for Cassidy.
— Ryan Donato was on the receiving end of a nasty hit from Jori Lehtera.
During the second period, Donato began to enter a scrum along the boards to assist teammate Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson. He seemed to see Lehtera coming behind him, but Lehtera proceed to egregiously board Donato, sending his face into the glass and bloodying him up.
Lehtera was whacked with a five-minute major and game misconduct, while Donato went down the tunnel to get fixed back up. Donato was back in the game during the third period.
