BOSTON -- The talking points from the Bruins' 8-2 win over the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden:
GOLD STAR: David Pastrnak ended with a hat trick and once again sparked the Bruins offense with a highlight-reel move in the first period. Pastrnak took the puck down low, carried it all the way up the ice through a Detroit defense that totally backed off him, and then fired a laser beam to the far top corner of the net for an electrifying goal. It didn’t end there, obviously, as Pastrnak scored two more goals and finished with three goals and a plus-3 in 13:34 of ice time. The second goal was just as pretty as Patrice Bergeron threw Pastrnak a no-look, cross-ice pass and the 22-year-old right winger didn’t miss a beat in rifling a one-timer to the top corner of the net. In all Pastrnak has seven goals and nine points in five games to start the season, and has essentially done all of that damage in the last four games following the opening night debacle against Washington.
BLACK EYE: Boy, was it a tough night for young Detroit defenseman Joe Hicketts. Not only did he get dismissively slapped away like a little child by Zdeno Chara during a first-period scuffle between the Bruins and Red Wings players, but he also finished with a game-worst minus-3 on the evening. Hicketts actually had 23:59 of ice time for the Red Wings in an impressive workhorse amount, and threw five hits while trying to play a physical style. But Hicketts clearly isn’t ready to shut down players the caliber of Boston’s lineup at this early point in his career, and he should think two, three or even four times before tangling with Chara anytime soon. Like a lot of his young Detroit teammates, Hicketts is probably going to take his lumps this season.
TURNING POINT: While many, this humble hockey writer included, would point to the Pastrnak first-period thing of beauty as the event that energized the Bruins, the players ibeg to differ. They instead pointed to Noel Acciari getting into it with Dylan Larkin a little bit earlier in the period after the two had collided violently in the neutral zone. Larkin came back and gave Acciari a couple of shoves to the head area, and Acciari finally responded by dropping the gloves ready to handle it the honorable way. At that point Larkin backed down and gave the Bruins a power play when he was slapped with a double-minor for roughing at the end of the incident. The Bruins players said that exchange woke them up from a bit of a sleepy first period, and got them going for the rest of the game.
HONORABLE MENTION: Finishing up behind Pastrnak was Jake DeBrusk with two goals of his own on the night. It was the first two goals of the season for the second-year winger and finally might allow him to relax a little bit after pressing following a scoreless first four games of the season. The first goal was a great play with David Krejci intercepting a puck in the neutral zone and then feeding DeBrusk behind the Red Wings defense for a breakaway chance. DeBrusk went for a five hole bid that pin-balled around Jonathan Bernier’s pads before trickling over the goal line, and extending Boston’s lead in the second period. DeBrusk scored later in a redirected shot while attacking the net as well, and finished with two goals and seven shot attempts with a plus-2 rating in 13:50 of ice time. Even better it looks like DeBrusk might be adjusting to playing on the right wing, which could open up some possibilities for either Danton Heinen or Ryan Donato on the left side with them.
BY THE NUMBERS: 22-6 – the amount that the Bruins have outscored the Sabres, Senators, Oilers and Red Wings over the last four games after losing the humiliating 7-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on opening night.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I don’t really think about it. I just go out there and play hockey, and enjoy every moment on the ice. Trying to get better every practice and every game, and just, you know, having fun. I love the game and I’m not focusing on if I’m going to score a goal or three.” – David Pastrnak, on whether he’s trying to bulk up his goal-scoring totals this season with seven goals in five games to start the year.
