David Pastrnak hits 100-point mark in Bruins' 7-2 win over Devils

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald on Apr 8, 2025

Published in Hockey

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Winning hockey games right now may be counter-productive to Bruin management’s pursuit of the highest draft pick possible. But sometimes everything goes right at the wrong time.

It was milestone night for the B’s in New Jersey as they swamped the New Jersey Devils, 7-2, led by David Pastrnak’s three-point night that pushed him to the 100-point plateau and Morgan Geekie’s 30th goal. Michael Callahan also scored his first NHL goal, Fabian Lysell notched his first NHL point and Fraser Minten notched his first goal as a Bruin. All four lines got on the board.

Jeremy Swayman also picked up his second straight win.

In a season that has been decidedly short on good times, it was a fun night for the B’s in Newark, N.J. The B’s have now won four games since their franchise-altering trade deadline, and they’ve all come again playoff-bound teams – Tampa, Florida, Carolina and now Jersey.

While the Bruins came into the game just playing out the string, the Devils didn’t have much to play for, either, as they were pretty much locked into the third playoff slot in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

And as they did on Sunday in Buffalo, the B’s took a 2-0 first period lead, with Pastrnak factoring in on both goals.

Pastrnak scored the first goal of the game on an unassisted tally, though his linemates Elias Lindholm and Geekie pressured Jesper Bratt to cough up the puck just outside the Jersey blue line. Pastrnak gloved it down, moved down on his off wing and beat Jacob Markstrom just under the glove with a low wrist shot at 9:38, his 41st goal of the season.

The B’s played a good first period. They had an 11-10 shot advantage, and five of Jersey’s shots came on an unsuccessful power play.

They then took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission on Franklin native Callahan’s first NHL goal. Pastrnak made a cross-ice pass up to Parker Wotherspoon at the top of the right circle and Wotherspoon dished it to his defense partner Callahan, whose shot beat Markstrom over the blocker with 36 seconds left in the period.

That was the 13th straight goal in which Pastrnak factored, extending his Bruin record, and it put him one short of 100 points.

That’s where the team record will stand for now, because the B’s finally got a goal while Pastrnak was sitting on the bench.

The Bruins’ second period struggles have become legendary, but they managed to extend their lead at 3:45 of the second. Luke Hughes stumbled at the Boston blue line, allowing Jakub Lauko to take off on a 2-on-1. Lauko kept it for himself and he whistled a wrister over Markstrom’s far blocker shoulder for his first goal since returning to the B’s at the trade deadline.

The B’s were in the process of playing a good second period – they allowed just one shot on net in the first 13-plus minutes – but things fell apart quickly. In 19 seconds to be exact.

The Devils got on the board at 13:51 on a delayed penalty. On an extended 6-on-5, Daniel Spron made a nice backhand pass through the crease to give Stefan Noesen a tap-in.

Then on the next shift, Minten couldn’t control Nikita Zadorov’s short pass in the defensive zone and it went to Erik Haula. Haula’s shot went off Timo Meier and eluded Jeremy Swayman to make it 3-2.

Afterwards, interim coach Joe Sacco called a timeout to straighten out his team.

Still, the equalizer seemed inevitable, and the B’s did have to hang on for a few shifts. But they pushed back late in the period and then scored another final minute seeing-eye goal. From just inside the left point, Casey Mittelstadt snapped a shot that went through a couple of bodies and past Pavel Zacha’s waving stick to beat Markstrom with 53 seconds remaining in the period. Fabian Lysell, who was playing better after a rough game in Buffalo, picked up his first NHL point on the primary assist.

The B’s then regained their three-goal lead 4:58 on a tally that took care of two accounts. Pastrnak made a tremendous pass down to Geekie for a redirect goal, giving Pastrnak his 100th point and Geekie his career-high 30th goal. It is Pastrnak’s third straight 100-point campaign.

Then, just 1:57 later, Minten scored his first goal as a Bruin, roofing a snap shot from just below the right circle.

Cole Koepke added one more to chase Markstrom.

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