David Pastrnak scored the overtime, series-clinching goal to lead the Boston Bruins to a first-round series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins were in danger of blowing a three-games-to-one lead before Pastrnak’s goal moved Boston onto the second round to face the team who had eliminated the Bruins the previous postseason. Pastrnak led the Bruins in scoring with 110 points, 43 more than the second player on the list, captain Brad Marchand. Pastrnak is an elite goal scorer in the NHL, and the 28-year-old wants to do more.
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The Bruins lost in six games to Florida, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. Boston started the series strong as they dominated Florida in Game 1. However, the Panthers were the better team once again and proved it with a Stanley Cup victory over Edmonton. The lack of a seventh game in the series is something Pastrnak confesses was different. The Bruins star regrets not forcing a seventh game in that series, as he told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Pastrnak understood his team was not as deep or as talented as the eventual Stanley Cup champions, but the right-wing believes his team can make noise this year. “We proved a lot of people wrong, last year we were not even supposed to make the playoffs. We beat a better team on paper (Toronto),” he told Friedman.
The Bruins added a top-six center in Elias Lindholm and a rugged defenseman in Nikita Zadorov in free agency. Young players Mason Lohrei and Matt Poitras will be looked upon to make further progress, with potentially a full season in the NHL on the horizon. Boston is deeper on paper, and the signing of goaltender Jeremy Swayman seems to be imminent, giving the Bruins a top-five goaltender even after the departure of Linus Ullmark. The fiercest competition has lost some depth as Florida moves on without Brandon Montour, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Pastrnak acknowledges that the goal for the Boston Bruins is to win their first Stanley Cup since 2011, three years before the Czech forward was drafted. Pastrnak seems hungry to win and committed to be the lead guy as the 2024-25 season gets underway on October 8 with a rematch against the Panthers. The Bruins are better on paper than last season, but can they get over the hump and escape a highly competitive Atlantic Division? A stellar season ahead for David Pastrnak could be a huge reason why.
