David Pastrnak could probably play the Philadelphia Flyers on Mars and still run riot.
That could be a possibility by the way in the wake of NASA landing on the red planet but, for now at least, Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak will no doubt be content with wreaking havoc and tormenting the Flyers indoors or outside, as was the case on Sunday.
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In what was the second NHL Outdoors Game of the weekend at the breathtaking Lake Tahoe, the Bruins absolutely powered past the Flyers in a dominant 7-3 win, the fifth time they have beaten their East Division rivals already in 2020-21. And, while they got contributions from up and down the lineup, Pastrnak was no doubt the star of the show.
We will of course touch on the fact that Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy continues to elevate his game and that Trent Frederic was able to record his first career NHL goal in a pretty special way in a piece we will publish later but, for now, we want to focus on David Pastrnak and his one-man vendetta against the Flyers this year.
Having recorded a hat trick against Philadelphia earlier this month in what was only his third game back after undergoing hip surgery during the offseason, the stud winger had also recorded a total of five points (3 G, 2 A) against the Flyers in two outings this season.
David Pastrnak continues to torment the Philadelphia Flyers no matter the venue
Therefore, maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Pastrnak was as dominant as he was on Sunday given the fact that he has pretty much owned the Flyers this year and, no matter that the fifth meeting between these two teams this season was outdoors, it was still the same old result for the B’s and their superstar forward.
And it took Pastrnak just 34 seconds to haunt the dreams of the Philadelphia Flyers once more, setting the tone for what was to come with a one-timer from a nice feed from Brad Marchand after Patrice Bergeron had won the puck to set up a transition attack for the Bruins.
Granted, the Flyers did respond with goals from Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier, but that only really delayed the inevitable as Charlie McAvoy made it a tied game at 15:27 in the first period, before the David Pastrnak show really began to take over against a stunning background.
With just 46 seconds played in the second period, the 24-year-old made it a one-goal game after unleashing one hell of a wrister from the top circle past Carter Hart, showing off once again his insane release and shot. Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Nick Ritchie would all inflict further damage on the Flyers and, while James van Riemsdyk did mark his seven Outdoor game with his eighth goal of the year, there was still time for one more serving of the Boston Bruins’ favorite dish.
That's career hat trick No. 10. 🧢 #NHLOutdoors | @pastrnak96 pic.twitter.com/SHYUMHHWxe
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 22, 2021
With the game now being played under lights, which was a really, really cool look by the way, David Pastrnak had the last laugh as he completed his hat trick by unleashing a bomb of a one-timer to clinch a dominant win for the Bruins in the most beautiful of settings.
It was Pastrnak’s 10th career hat trick, his second against the Flyers already this season and his first in an outdoor game, and it will probably be the most perfect hat trick the right wing will ever score given the breathtaking backdrop of the mountains and the lake, with the scene in the last two periods of the game like something out of a storybook.
It was truly a special night for the Boston Bruins who are now 11-3-2 on the year and it was a special night for their most potent offensive weapon in David Pastrnak, who now has 14 points (9 G, 5 A) on the year in nine games and is scoring at an insane clip of 1.56 points per game. And, not only is he on pace for another stellar year when it comes to lighting the lamp, but David Pastrnak is also proving to be the stuff of nightmares for the Philadelphia Flyers and Sunday was a reminder that whether indoors, outdoors or on Mars, the sharpshooter is more than likely going to find a way to score against the orange and black.