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Pastrnak shines again as Bruins win sixth in a row: 3 takeaways

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In a thrilling overtime game, David Pastrnak and David Krejci both score goals to help the Bruins overcome a two-goal deficit in their 3-2 victory over the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

The Boston Bruins just keep on rolling.

Thanks to another huge game from David Pastrnak and a perfect day from their penalty kill, the Bruins were able to overcome a two-goal deficit against the New York Rangers to earn a 3-2 overtime win, extending their current winning streak to six games and improving their overall record to 18-3-5 on the season.

They are also on a 10-game point streak (7-0-3) dating back to Nov. 10 and are 10-0-4 on home ice this season. They have not lost a home game in regulation since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues. Their next four games are all at home.

Let’s take a quick look at three big developments that stood out from the Bruins’ win, which also snapped what had been a three-game winning streak for the Rangers.

1. Special teams was the difference. There were two big turning points in this game where the Rangers had a chance to take control. The first came in the second period when they were leading 2-0 and were set to go a two-man advantage after Sean Kuraly and Matt Grzelcyk were both sent to the box.

Not only did the Rangers fail to capitalize and extend their lead, they were unable to even record a single shot on goal during the 5-on-3 situation.

As if that was not bad enough, the Rangers were fortunate enough to get a four-minute power play with seven minutes to play in regulation -- in a tie game -- when Par Lindholm was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking Brendan Smith. The Rangers again failed to score, wrapping up an 0-for-6 day on the power play, and did not record a shot on goal until there was less than a minute to go on the power play. They struggled to gain entry into the offensive zone, they struggled to get anything set up, and they just looked completely overmatched against the Bruins’ PK unit all day long.

2. David Pastrnak put on another show. He added to his league-leading goal total on Friday by scoring his 24th goal of the season (in his 26th game) to tie the game in the third period, then set up David Krejci’s game-winning goal in overtime with an incredible play that saw him dangle his way through the Rangers’ defense then find his wide open teammate for the winner.

3. The Bruins seem to have avoided another significant injury. Already playing without their No. 1 center, Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins briefly lost another key part of their dominant top line on Friday when Brad Marchand briefly exited the game in the third period. Marchand appeared to be struck by Jacob Trouba’s elbow in the second period and, following the intermission, was removed from the game. Marchand angrily went down the tunnel to the team’s locker room where he would remain for the first half of the third period. It was during that time that Pastrnak, playing on a makeshift line alongside Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, scored to tie the game. Marchand was eventually able to return to the game and finish it in his normal spot alongside Pastrnak.

Related: Can anyone catch Pastrnak in goal scoring race?

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.