David Pastrnak snaps cold spell, pulls back into NHL goal-scoring lead

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TORONTO – It was ultimately in a losing effort, but the silver lining in defeat was a David Pastrnak performance that showed the young star is heating up again.

Pastrnak scored a pair of goals to snap a five-game goal-scoring drought and powered all of Boston’s offense in a 4-2 loss to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The two goals allowed Pastrnak to pull back into a tie with Patrik Laine for the NHL lead in goals this season with both players sitting at 19 apiece, and it gave the Bruins hope that the young winger can keep scoring even though Patrice Bergeron will still be out for at least a few more weeks.

“He needed it for himself and we needed it for the team. When your best players don’t score for stretches it’s going to show up. Secondary scoring has helped us. It helped us in Montreal, it helped us in Arizona and in Detroit we got a point,” said Bruce Cassidy. “But eventually you need it, and he got going tonight, he and Marchand both. Unfortunately we couldn’t squeeze one more [goal] out of the rest of the group.”

Both Pastrnak goals came on the power play in the second period with the first a simple bang-bang one-timer in close to the net that beat Freddie Andersen trying to move post-to-post. The second score was an offensive face-off win that allowed Torey Krug to find a passing seam to Pastrnak down low, and he outmaneuvered Andersen at the Toronto net.

“I don’t know. I just go out there and play. Maybe last year in the playoffs made me feel like beating them because I’ve had good games against them since then,” said Pastrnak, who now has 15 goals and 29 points in 20 games against the Leafs including last spring’s playoffs. “But other than I just go out and play.”

More importantly, it gives hope to a Bruins offense that hasn’t exactly been prolific since the injuries started hitting them, and has really become a modest attack since Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara went on the shelf. The Bruins could use a hot stretch from both Pastrnak and Brad Marchand after a recent lull, and both of those top line players had multiple point games in defeat on Monday night in Toronto.

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The B’s have to hope that’s a portent of good things to come for both offensive players in Boston’s time of need. 

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