Bruins' David Pastrnak to play in 700th career game – Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

Sunday's (Dec. 1) game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens means a little more than a regular season game, except for the usual two points on the line. It marks 100 years to the day of the Bruins' first-ever NHL game – a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Maroons on December 1, 1924. It's a milestone that only two other franchises have achieved (the Toronto Maple Leafs Leafs and Montreal Canadiens ), marking another important day for a team with many historic moments. However, it's not just a big game for the Bruins, but also for their best player.

Against the Canadiens on Dec. 1, David Pastrnak will be playing in his 700th regular season game, becoming the 21st player in Bruins history and the 45th Czech-born player to hit the milestone.

Drafted 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Pastrnak has become one of the leading scorers in the entire league, accumulating 356 goals and 749 points in 699 games played (1.07 points per game). He won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (most goals in a season) in the 2019-20 season and has finished in the top ten in goals on three other occasions. In four of his past five seasons, Pastrnak has scored at least 40 goals, including a 61-goal campaign in 2022-23, joining the prestigious group of players to score 60 points since 2000 (Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos, and and Alex Ovechkin).

The 28-year-old is already the seventh most goalscorer in Boston history, just under 50 goals behind Ray Bourque and Rick Middleton to break into the top five. On the pace he's on to start his career, Pastrnak has a legitimate case to be the all-time leading scorer in franchise history, possibly surpassing Johnny Bucyk for the franchise lead (545) sometime in the future.

Related: Could David Pastrnak Be the Greatest Scorer in Bruins History?

This season has been a struggle for Pastrnak compared to previous seasons, as he has only eight goals in 25 games. The rest of the Bruins have been sorely lacking in scoring all-time, leading to a disappointing 11-11-3 record in December. As Boston looks to start the next century of hockey on the right foot, they will need Pastrnak to return to the form expected of him. A big milestone like this might just be the motivation he needs to jump in and start a hot streak.