David Pastrnak’s “All-Around” showcase comes at the right time

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak isn’t scoring as many goals as he did the last two seasons. In fact, Pastrnak is currently on pace to finish with under 30 goals for the first time since the shortened 2020-21 season.

But the Bruins star served as a reminder Saturday night that he can still make a huge offensive impact even when he’s not getting to the net.

Pastrnak posted a four-point performance in Boston’s much-needed 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The 28-year-old provided three assists and scored a goal, giving the offensively challenged Bruins a vital spark.

“His game is all-around,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco told reporters in an audio recording provided by the team. “We all know that. He can score, he can pass, he has the ability to make plays. Getting him moving in the right direction offensively is obviously a big boost for our team.”

Pastrnak set up Boston’s two first-half goals and his third helper, just 1:12 into the second period, was something wonderful. He collected the puck along the boards in the neutral zone and sent a perfect backhand lead pass to Pavel Zacha, who lined up behind the Canucks’ defense before scoring.

The three-assist night put Pastrnak in exclusive company as he became the 11th player in franchise history to record 400 career assists. Pastrnak, who now has 10 points in seven games this month, added a total just seconds into the third period.

He’s not scoring with the same regularity this season, but the three-time All-Star is definitely still making game-winning plays.

“He’s so talented, he’s so skilled and same thing, he works on his game more than any of us,” Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman told reporters, as seen in NESN postgame coverage. “It’s really great to see him rewarded and we know he’ll go big every time.”

Here are more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Canucks game:

– Brad Marchand trolled Canucks fans after scoring a power play goal to give Boston a 1-0 lead after just 5:12 minutes. Canucks fans booed the Bruins captain every time he touched the puck, so Marchand held his hand to his ear during his goal celebration after silencing the crowd.

– Sacco brought Marc McLaughlin back into the lineup after a healthy lead against the Seattle Kraken, and the Billerica, Massachusetts native scored his first goal of the season. McLaughlin had some puck luck when his shot deflected and beat Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.

“It feels really good,” McLaughlin told reporters, as seen in NESN postgame coverage. “Obviously a fortuitous upswing. But a great play from (Andrew Peeke), who hits the wall on his wing and just throws it into the net.”

– It was the first time former Canadiens Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov played in Vancouver since signing long-term deals with the Bruins in the offseason. Lindholm had an assist on Marchand’s goal and Zadorov was second among all Bruins defensemen with 23:04 of ice time. Zadorov skated alongside Charlie McAvoy on Boston’s top defensive pairing.

– Swayman had an impressive performance after allowing eight goals and finishing with 19 saves in his last start against the Winnipeg Jets. But the goaltender’s biggest contribution may have come at the end of the morning skate, when he kept the mood going leading the team in a group hug.

“I didn’t leave the ice without a group hug,” Swayman told reporters with a smile. “It’s the perfect time for this. We all love each other in this locker room and just to show on the ice that today is a new day, the sun has come up today and we’re going to make sure we all get through the ups and downs of this together. So we will continue to hug each other, that’s for sure.”

– The Bruins continue their West Coast road trip on Tuesday when they take on the Calgary Flames. Puck drop from the Scotiabank Saddledome is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET and you can watch the game and an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.