Pastrnak scores Nos. 50, 51, Bruins defeat Hurricanes in shootout

RALEIGH, N.C. -- David Pastrnak scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season, and the Boston Bruins recovered to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout at PNC Arena on Sunday.

"It's pretty special," Pastrnak said. "It's even better with the win. You never know what can happen. I had plenty of games to get there. It's pretty cool, and even better to share with the guys I have here."
Jakub Lauko scored, and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for the Bruins (57-11-5), who have won seven in a row. Charlie McAvoy had two assists.
Boston played without forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and defenseman Hampus Lindholm. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said the players had nagging injuries.
"With Bergeron and Marchand back home, you could see [Pastrnak's] leadership skills come out," Montgomery said. "I think he put the team on his back and played the right way everywhere."
Montgomery said he does not expect Bergeron, Marchand and Lindholm to miss extended time.
"We didn't have those guys, kind of a no-pressure game really," McAvoy said. "We're not fielding our normal lineup, and to still get a result I thought was great. I thought, really, we were just playing for each other."
Jack Drury, Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (47-16-9), who were coming off a 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Frederik Andersen made 35 saves.
Carolina moved three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who have played one more game, for first in the Metropolitan Division.
"It wasn't our best game, but I thought in the third period we certainly came on," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's one of those games you probably say it's good to get a point considering how it was looking."

Skjei cut it to 3-2 at 1:37 of the third period, scoring on a long rebound off the end boards. Aho then tied it 3-3 at 3:44 when he redirected a centering pass from Jordan Martinook at the edge of the crease.
Aho has scored in three straight games and has six goals in his past five.
"We understand that he's got to step up," Brind'Amour said. "He's our best player. It's not all on him, but you can see we need it."
Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 4:43 of the first period, taking a pass from McAvoy in the neutral zone and getting behind the Hurricanes' defense before slipping a shot five-hole on Andersen.
"I kind of lose the puck and it goes in," Pastrnak said. "That's the game, and I'll take it. I don't know how to do that on purpose."

Drury tied it 1-1 at 7:44 of the second period when he chipped in Jalen Chatfield's pass to the slot.
"[Chatfield] made a great play coming down the wall and I just finished it," Drury said.
Pastrnak put the Bruins back in front 2-1 at 9:12, scoring from a sharp angle inside the left post with a one-timer on a power play.
Lauko extended it to 3-1 at 11:46 when he pulled up off the rush and scored blocker side from the right circle.
Swayman helped get the game to a shootout when he made consecutive save on Brent Burns and Jordan Staal in the final seconds of overtime.
"I think all of us thrive on the energy in a building like this against such a quality team like that," Swayman said. "It was fun battling against Freddie Andersen. He had a great game, obviously, but I'm excited about the two points."

NOTES: Lauko left in the third period after an awkward fall into the boards. Montgomery said Lauko sustained an upper-body injury but expects him to be available for Boston's home game against Nashville on Tuesday. … Pastrnak has 601 points (291 goals, 310 assists) in 583 games, the third-fewest needed to reach the milestone in Bruins history, behind Bobby Orr (461) and Ray Bourque (569).