David Pastrnak Joins Some Elite Company After Scoring 30th Goal Of Season
BOSTON (CBS) -- It is, theoretically, difficult to score 30 goals in an NHL season. David Pastrnak has a way of making it look easy, though.
Pastrnak scored his 30th and 31st goal of the season on Thursday night in a 5-2 win over the Golden Knights, reaching the 30-goal mark in the team's 55th game of the season. Still just 25 years old, this is now the fifth time Pastrnak has reached the 30-goal mark in a season.
And as tweeted by Sportsnet on Thursday night, he's now in a group of just two players in Bruins franchise history to record five seasons with 30 goals before turning 26. Prior to Pastrnak, only Cam Neely was on that list.
David Pastrnak joins Cam Neely as the only players in #NHLBruins history with five 30-goal seasons prior to turning 26 years of age.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 4, 2022
Neely was traded to the Bruins at age 21, and he immediately rattled off five straight 30-goal seasons, scoring as many as 55 in a single season (1989-90).
Putting the age restriction aside, Pastrnak already ranks highly on the Bruins' all-time list of 30-goal seasons overall. He's now tied for seventh in franchise history with five such seasons. Considering he shares that honor with Bobby Orr, it's a solid place to be.
David Pastrnak hit the 30-goal mark for the fifth time in his NHL career, joining some elite @NHLBruins company.#NHLStats: https://t.co/XKj4YAX53c pic.twitter.com/E50wJQJPo5
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 4, 2022
Pastrnak is only signed through the 2022-23 season, so it's unclear as of now how far up those leaderboards he'll rise. For now, there's no doubt whatsoever that Pastrnak is in a rare class of goal scorers.