One of the ingredients in the Boston Bruins’ recipe for success is the sustained performance of striker David Pastrnak, who is hard to miss and the Czech has once again contributed to a season of good taste.

A co-recipient of the 2019-2020 Maurice Richard Trophy, he did some serious damage in Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabers with a goal and two assists. With 11 goals to his name this season, the hockey player is tied with two of the league leaders, Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets). He is therefore on track to have a similar campaign to the last one, when he threaded the needle 61 times.

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And that’s without his 24 points, which put him in second place in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. If the main player ends up at the top of the scorers and pointers, he will succeed Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, who won the Maurice-Richard and the Art-Ross in 2022-2023.

In short, the Bruins are full of luck and their head coach Jim Montgomery is full of praise for Pastrnak.

“He makes the people around him better,” he said, as the website NHL.com explained after the 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He’s as good a sniper as he is a passer. The way he performs as the leader of our team and the most talented player shows everyone that you have to work to be successful.”

The group above all

However, victory is not the job of one man in the locker room and the winger’s teammates are the first to emphasize the importance of a collective effort. Boston uses the same keys that allowed it to achieve 65 wins and 135 points in 2022-2023: incessant work coupled with talent and symbiosis between its skaters. Everyone contributes, including defenders and goalkeepers.

“That’s what drives everyone. “You want to internalize a winning culture, create it and make it sustainable,” said Linus Ullmark, winner of the Vezina Trophy last season. The club here has done this so well over the years and now we are keeping the flame as bright as possible by taking over.”

The leaders of the Atlantic Section of the National League await the Montreal Canadiens, who will be at TD Garden on Saturday at 7 p.m. The TVA Sports channel will broadcast the meeting.