Field Level Media
14 Jan 2022, 10:49 GMT+10
David Pastrnak recorded his 11th career hat trick to punctuate the highly anticipated return of goaltender Tuukka Rask as the Boston Bruins held off the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Thursday night.
Pastrnak's trio of goals gave him 16, second on the team behind Brad Marchand's 19. The right winger's third goal, on a power play at 16:45 of the second period, broke a 2-2 tie to put Boston in front for good.
Rask made 25 saves in his season debut and first game since Game 6 of the Bruins' second-round playoff series against the New York Islanders on June 9, 2021.
The 34-year-old goaltender underwent offseason hip surgery and signed a one-year, $1 million deal to rejoin the Bruins on Tuesday.
Boston earned its season-high fourth straight victory and improved to 7-1-0 since resuming play after the league-wide pandemic schedule pause.
Cam Atkinson scored his team-leading 15th goal and Joel Farabee netted his 11th for the Flyers. Carter Hart stopped 33 of 36 shots for Philadelphia, which took its sixth consecutive defeat (0-4-2).
Pastrnak opened the scoring on a wrist shot in the slot just 1:51 into the game. He scored again on a power play at the 5:27 mark of the opening period, on a wrist shot from the right circle.
Atkinson's power-play tip-in of Ivan Provorov's shot from the top of the right circle cut the Flyers' deficit to 2-1 at 8:02 of the second.
Farabee tied it at 2-2 with exactly five minutes left in the middle period, finishing off a give-and-go with Atkinson with a backhander.
Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk missed the game after landing in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol before the game. One additional Bruins staffer also was placed in the protocol.
Bruins defenseman John Moore (upper-body injury) and forwards Nick Foligno (lower body) and Trent Frederic (upper body) all sat out.
Flyers center Sean Couturier (upper body) missed his seventh straight game. Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen (COVID protocol) and Ryan Ellis (lower body) and center Derick Brassard (hip) also were sidelined for Philadelphia.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Massachusetts Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Massachusetts Sun.
More InformationEVERGLADES, Florida: Over the weekend, a diverse coalition of environmental activists, Native American leaders, and residents gathered...
BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
DOVER, Delaware: California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken legal aim at Fox News, accusing the network of deliberately distorting...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
TORONTO, Canada: Harvard University and the University of Toronto have created a backup plan to ensure Harvard graduate students continue...
NEW YORK, New York - Global stock indices closed with divergent performances on Tuesday, as investors weighed corporate earnings, central...
TORONTO, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late on June 29 that trade negotiations with the U.S. have recommenced...
Vancouver, Canada: A high-stakes legal showdown is brewing in the world of athleisure. Lululemon, the Canadian brand known for its...
LONDON, U.K.: British oil giant Shell has denied reports that it is in talks to acquire rival oil company BP. The Wall Street Journal...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets closed firmly in positive territory to start the week Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he was halting trade discussions with Canada due to its decision...