Bruins Defeat Avalanche with Pastrnak Hat Trick

In a matchup between two of the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference, the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche battled it out on Thursday night at TD Garden. The Bruins would prove to be the superior squad, as David Pastrnak would lead the way for Boston, with his first hat-trick of the season in their 5-2 victory over the Avalanche. The victory for Boston improves them to (27-8-9) for 63 points and the best record in the East. With the loss, the Avalanche, who had won eight of 10, dropped to (29-14-3) for 61 points and second place in the Central Division. 

The Bruins would quickly snatch a 1-0 lead just 44 seconds into the game, as Pastrnak would pick up a loose puck in the left circle and score on a wrist shot past goalie Alexander Georgiev. At 4:58, the Bruins would extend their lead to 2-0, as center Jakub Lauko would score on a backhanded shot into the back of the net after Georgiev was spun out of position. The Avalanche would cut their deficit to 2-1, at 7:32 of the opening period, after left winger Miles Wood slipped in a puck past Bruins’ goalie Jeremy Swayman from a tight angle. The entertaining first period would conclude by pushing the Bruins’ lead to 3-1, at 14:52, as Jake DeBrusk deflected a shot from Parker Wotherspoon into the net. 

At 16:20 of the second period, star center Nathan MacKinnon would trim Boston’s lead to 3-2, after tapping in the puck that slipped past Swayman’s feet. Late in the third period, at 17:24, DeBrusk would find Pastrnak wide open behind the defense for his second goal of the game on a power-play opportunity. With 22 seconds left in the game, Pastrnak would finish off his hat-trick game with an empty-net goal, as Colorado had pulled Georgiev for the extra-attacker. Following the game, Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery discussed his takeaways from his team’s dominant victory. “I don’t know if it’s a statement game,” Montgomery continued, “I just like the way our game is building. You can see the confidence throughout the lineup with how we’re playing with the puck.” The Bruins will look to extend their point streak to eight games, as they host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.