David Pastrnak is one of the NHL’s top goal-scorers and is highly regarded as one of the best wings in the entire league. But perhaps not as highly as some here in Boston may think.
In its list of the Top 20 wingers in the NHL right now, NHL network ranked the Boston Bruins star fourth behind Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers, and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.
Whether you believe Pastrnak is ranked too high or too low, there is plenty of room for debate over where he falls in the rankings.
After combing through the numbers and also taking some other criteria into consideration, it seems that while the list is flawed, it’s not wildly off-base, either.
Here’s what NHL Network got right and wrong about Pastrnak.
Kucherov Is Better, But Only With Help:
Pastrnak may have put together an impressive campaign last year with 110 points, but he was a far cry from Kucherov, who lit up the league as its leading scorer with 144 points to earn the prestigious Art Ross Trophy.
Although Pastrnak does have the edge as a goal-scorer–and once again has some of the best odds to win the Rocket Richard Trophy this season–Kucherov has proved to be equally lethal at both shooting and passing the puck. His 100 assists last year were tied with Connor McDavid for the league lead and 11 more than any other player.
However, while the players’ counting stats are what first draws the eye, there is something to be said when looking at those numbers in context.
Kucherov benefitted greatly from playing alongside other players who are highly dangerous on offense. According to Moneypuck.com, the line that Kucherov most often skated on with Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel generated 19.1 xGoals For, which was 28th in the league among forward lines.
Meanwhile, Pastrnak’s most often-used line, which featured Pavel Zacha and Danton Heinen, had just nine xGoals For and wasn’t even the most dangerous trio in the Bruins’ lineup.
As far as each player goes as an individual, it’s clear who makes a greater impact. Over the last three seasons, no player has been more dominant when on the ice than Pastrnak, whose 2,005 individual Corsi is the most of any player during that span, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Nevertheless, Pastrnak will still have a hard time keeping pace with Kucherov this upcoming year.
Even though Pastrnak should see a jump in production from the addition of Elias Lindholm in Boston, Kucherov has a new running mate as well after the Lightning brought in elite sniper Jake Guentzel as one of the more surprising moves of the offseason.
Tkachuk Produces When It Matters Most:
This is by no means an insult, but of any player at the top of this list, Tkachuk is the least skilled of the bunch.
However, he still ranks so highly because he makes an impact in so many other ways.
Tkachuk is a complete, 200-foot player. Whether it be as a forechecker in the offensive end or a penalty killer on defense, there isn’t a phase of the game that he doesn’t affect.
He’s big, mean, and physical, equally able to put you through the boards with a ferocious hip check as he is to score a highlight reel goal. If you think about it, there really isn’t another player like him in the league right now, maybe other than his brother Brady.
But what truly makes Tkachuck the player he is is his ability to produce when it matters most.
Tkachuk seems to only get better in the postseason and is a large part of the reason why the Panthers have been a buzzsaw in May and June over the last few years.
The Bruins know that to be true better than anybody.
In their last two playoff series against Florida, the Bruins surrendered a combined 16 points to Tkachuk in 13 games, while Pastrnak mustered only eight.
Not only did Tkachuk beat Pastrnak on the stat sheet, but he did so in the literal sense and now, once again, in these rankings.