Boston Bruins star forward David Pastrnak turned in one of his better stretches of play over the last week and got rewarded for it.
The NHL announced Monday that Pastrnak was named the league’s Second Star of the Week after totaling five goals and two assists for seven points in three games. Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov took First Star honors while Vegas Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson was the Third Star.
Pastrnak began his week with a two-point showing in a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils and followed it up with a monster performance against the high-powered Colorado Avalanche. Pastrnak notched three goals in the 5-2 win to give him his 16th career hat trick, which is second-most in Bruins history only behind Phil Eposito’s 26.
Pastrnak added a goal and an assist in Boston’s 9-4 drubbing of the rival Montreal Canadiens over the weekend to round out his week.
The 27-year-old now ranks third in the NHL with 30 goals and 66 points and Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has been impressed with Pastrnak not settling after tallying a career-high 113 points last season.
“Players that are determined to want to leave their mark on the game, you don’t have to worry about that,” Montgomery told reporters at Monday’s morning skate before a showdown with the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden, per team-provided video. “They want to get better every year and he continues to add different arsenals to his goal-scoring prowess, his playmaking ability and also his defensive game. We’re lucky to have him.”
Pastrnak joins goalie Jeremy Swayman as Boston’s player representatives at the NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 3. Pastrnak will also compete in the Skills Challenge.
