Bruins’ David Pastrnak to Play in 700th Career Game

Sunday’s (Dec. 1) game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens means a bit more than just a typical regular season game, aside from the usual two points in the standings on the line. It marks 100 years to the day of the Bruins’ first ever NHL game – a 2-1 win over the Montreal Maroons on Dec. 1, 1924. It is a milestone that only two other franchises have reached (Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens), signifying another important day for a team that has a ton of historic moments. However, it’s not just a big game for the Bruins, but also one for their superstar forward.

Against the Canadiens on Dec. 1, David Pastrnak will be playing in his 700th regular season game, becoming the 21st player in Bruins history and the 45th Czech-born player to hit the plateau.

Drafted 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Pastrnak has become one of the best goal-scorers in the entire league, amassing 356 goals and 749 points in the 699 games he’s played (1.07 points per game). He won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (most goals in a season) in the 2019-20 season and has finished top-ten in goals on three other occasions. In four of his last five seasons, Pastrnak has scored at least 40 goals, including a 61-goal campaign in 2022-23, joining a prestigious group of players to hit the 60-goal mark since 2000 (Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos, and Alex Ovechkin).

The 28-year-old is already seventh all-time in goals in Boston’s history, less than 50 goals behind Ray Bourque and Rick Middleton to break into the top five. At the pace he is on to begin his career, Pastrnak has a legitimate case to become the greatest goal scorer in franchise history, potentially surpassing Johnny Bucyk for the franchise lead (545) later in the future.

This season has been a bit of a struggle for Pastrnak in comparison to past seasons, though, as he only has eight goals in 25 games. The Bruins’ entire team severely lacks consistent goal-scoring all-around, which has led to their disappointing 11-11-3 record heading into December. As Boston looks to start the next century of hockey off on the right foot, they’ll need Pastrnak to get back into the form expected of him. A big milestone like this may be the motivation he needs to jumpstart a hot streak.