Forward David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins is just 52 goals away from becoming the sixth player in organization history to reach 400 goals going into the 2024–25 season. The all-time leading scorer Ray Bourque, who concluded his Hall of Fame career with 395 lamplighters—the most of any defenseman to have ever played in Boston—ranks eighth behind him.
It’s interesting to note that Pastrnak has only ever scored more than 50 goals in a season once, which happened in the 2022–2023 season when he scored a career-high 61 goals, making him the second Bruins player to ever score more than 60 in a season. Playing with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron helped him reach that milestone, and the team went on to set NHL records for points and wins.
Pastrnak had another 100-point season, ending with 110 points and 47 goals, the third-highest total of his career thus far, despite Bergeron’s retirement in the summer of 2023. After trying out centers like Pavel Zacha, a fellow Czech, and Charlie Coyle, the Bruins signed Elias Lindholm, who provided Pastrnak with a top-notch passer to lead the top line.
The leading goal scorer for Boston, as previously mentioned, has only scored more than 50 goals once. With a chance to reach 400 goals this season, will he and his linemates find a way to elevate their play to help Pastrnak cross the 50-goal mark once more and help him reach the next milestone in his pursuit of the club’s all-time goal record of 545, which is currently held by Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk?
Lindholm is a player who passes first.
Fortunately for Pastrnak, Lindholm, his new center, prioritizes passing over shooting. With the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Carolina Hurricanes over the course of 11 seasons, the 29-year-old Swedish forward has 339 assists in 818 games. During his time with the Flames, he recorded 40 and 42 assists in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons, respectively, marking his greatest seasons.
With a career assist-per-game average of 0.41, Lindholm outperforms Zacha (0.33) and Coyle (0.32). This means that Pastrnak will have a linemate who will look for the sharpshooter whenever possible and feed him the puck. From a perspective point of view, Lindholm’s assist totals are comparable to those of Bergeron, who concluded his career worthy of Hall Fame with a 0.47 rate.
In addition to his offensive contributions, Lindholm was brought in as the team’s best face-off player. He concluded the 2023–24 season with a 56.4 success percentage, winning over half of the draws he took for the fourth straight year. Winning face-offs gives the Bruins control of the puck and creates opportunities for plays, particularly when they have a man advantage and Pastrnak is setting up shop in the far circle for his trademark one-timers.
400 Goals Are Achievable If Everything Goes Right
If Pastrnak and Lindholm click and Marchand, his longtime linemate, keeps up his current production pace, which ranks him among the team’s greatest statistical players, Pastrnak should have no trouble reaching 400 goals in 2024–25. Pastrnak will skate with Coyle and Zacha a lot, depending on who has a hot hand, because the season is long and will have peaks and valleys as usual.
In terms of his place in Bruins history, Pastrnak may surpass the names he is chasing—Midton (861), Marchand (1,026), Bucyk (1,062), and Bergeron (1,216)—by being the second-fastest skater to score 400 goals, after Phil Esposito (542 games).
The 28-year-old will get one goal closer to the club record of 545 goals held by Bucyk since 1978 if he lights the lamp for the 400th time in 2024–25. Pastrnak would become the second player in as many seasons as he currently plays, as no other player in the 101-year history of the Bruins has ever scored 500 goals. With seven seasons remaining on his current deal, he will reach his 555th goal and become Boston’s all-time top scorer in less than five years at a goal average of 0.51 per game.
In Boston, the 2024–25 season is promising to be very unique. In addition to Pastrnak’s attempt to reach 400 goals, captain Marchand is almost at 1,000 points. A Stanley Cup championship would be the lone thing separating these two careers from becoming one of the team’s greatest pairings ever. If the two achieved their goals, led the Bruins to the championship game, and shared the victory, wouldn’t that be something?
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