Boston Bruins right winger David Pastrnak of Havirov, Czech Republic was named the NHL First Star of the Month for January according to nhl.com. In 14 games, Pastrnak had 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points.
In Depth Look at Pastrnak’s stats
Pastrnak had a point in 12 of his 14 games. In four of the 14 games, he had three points. Pastrnak was recognized despite being a -4. Also during the month of January, he had four penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 59 shots on goal, six power-play points, 13 hits, three blocked shots and two faceoff wins.
Pastrnak’s 11 goals were tied for the most in the NHL. The only other player with 11 goals was Carolina Hurricanes centre Seth Jarvis of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pastrnak had the fourth most assists with 13. He was behind Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner of Markham, Ontario, Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov of Maykop, Russia, and Utah Hockey Club centre Clayton Keller of Chesterfield, Missouri. Marner and Kucherov had 15 assists, and Keller had 14 assists.
The 24 points Pastrnak had in January led all players. Eighteen of Pastrnak’s 24 points were even strength.
Game-Winning Goal
Pastrnak’s game-winning goal in January came against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He scored from defenseman Mason Lohrei of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and center Elias Lindholm of Boden, Sweden with two seconds left in the extra period in a 4-3 Boston win on January 11.
Battling for a playoff spot
The Bruins are at 26 wins, 22 regulation losses and six losses in extra time. With 58 points, they are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Boston actually has the same number of points as the eighth place Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Tampa Bay has three games in hand.
One area of concern for the Bruins at this time is goals for and against. They have scored 149 times, but have given up 175 goals, the second most in the Atlantic Division. Only the Buffalo Sabres (177 goals) have given up more.
