The Boston Bruins have checked boxes throughout their spotless regular-season run.
They've set records left and right, and despite a handful of key members sidelined during Sunday's matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, the first of Boston's final three regular-season contests was no exception.
Boston tackled its chase to the all-time record for most wins in a single season in NHL history, delivering yet another playoff-like push to the finish line. Granted, having a fully determined and red-hot David Pastrnak made doing so that much easier for Jim Montgomery's team in their 5-3 win over the Flyers.
Pastrnak, who only played 15 minutes on the ice, scored not one, not two, but three goals in the win, seizing a hat trick while also tallying career goal No. 300. The third, which came in the third period, gave Pastrnak 60 goals on the season.
"It's a lot of fun, I'm not going to lie," Pastrnak told reporters postgame, according to Matt Porter of The Boston Globe. "... Made history today in the biggest league in hockey. We definitely appreciate it."
And while the Bruins are officially the all-time league leaders in wins for a regular season, Boston is never content, which has been evident all year long. With two games left before the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the B's could extend that record to 65 with consecutive victories on Tuesday and Thursday.
With Pastrnak only needing 15 minutes to add three goals to his season total, two games should also give him more than enough time to add to his career-best mark.
Here are more notes from Sunday’s Bruins-Flyers game:
-- Pastrnak became the third player in NHL history to score his 60th goal from a hat trick, joining Wayne Gretzky (1981-82) and Mike Bossy (1980-81), according to NHL Public Relations.
-- Pastrnak only trails Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for the league lead in goals scored this season. McDavid has 64 goals. Pastrnak and McDavid became the first duo to score 60-plus goals in the same season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr did so in 1995-96.
-- Pastrnak has scored 12 goals in his last 10 games for the Bruins, while also totaling four assists. The rest of Boston has combined to score 16 goals through that stretch.
-- Boston currently sits second in the chase for the NHL's all-time points record with 131, trailing the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens (132), according to NHL Public Relations.
-- The Bruins next host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night with two games left in the regular season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.
