Pastrnak, Bruins edge Maple Leafs in OT for 61st win

David Pastrnak scored at 2:30 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins their 61st win of the season, 2-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday.

Pastrnak won it with a one-timer from the top of the left face-off circle off a pass from Dmitry Orlov shortly after a power play expired.
"Honestly, I was just trying to set up Orlov for a [one-timer], but he kept passing back," Pastrnak said. "Yeah, just got it by the defense and it ended up in the net, so obviously a nice goal."
The goal was Pastrnak's 57th of the season, though he said after the game he isn't thinking about potentially scoring 60.
"No, not really," Pastrnak said. "I just play right now. I'm enjoying the game and I'm having fun out there. It's a special group here, so every day is fun at work right now, and I'm just focusing on that and am very grateful for that."

Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves for the Bruins (61-12-5), who are one win shy of tying the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning for the most in NHL history.
"That was a special one," Swayman said. "The crowd was into it the whole time, and I think we knew the magnitude of the game, send a message still. We know they're a playoff team and we could see them down the road, so a special win for sure."
Sam Lafferty scored, and Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs (46-21-11), who are 3-1-2 in their past six games.
By earning a point, Toronto clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and will have home-ice advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round. Tampa Bay lost 6-1 at the New York Islanders on Thursday.
"It's another checkpoint if you will, like we talked about when you clinch a playoff spot," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That's an accomplishment along the way. Getting home ice, it's another thing where you are in position to do that in a very competitive division, so you might as well make that happen, too. Tonight was a big point on the road for us against a very good team in a building in which it's extremely difficult to come away with anything, so it was a good night for us."
Lafferty gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 11:34 of the second period. He scored into an open net from the right post after controlling Zach Aston-Reese's shot, which was going wide of the net. The play started after Lafferty intercepted a pass from Pastrnak in neutral zone and dumped the puck into the left corner.
Coyle tied it 1-1 at 11:32 of the third period, drifting across the high slot before scoring glove side from the top of the left circle.
"I had a bunch of room to work with," Coyle said. "Trent Frederic] and
[[Oskar] Steen
were both driving the net, so that gave me time. I'm lucky it found a way in."

Brandon Carlo made the play happen by jumping up to keep in Luke Schenn's clearing attempt at the blue line before quickly swatting the puck to Coyle in the high slot.
"We get some turnover in the zone and [Coyle has] got a lot of time for shooting and seeing what I will do," Samsonov said. "Just a good shot. … This is [the NHL]. If these guys have space or time, most of these guys, they will score, yeah."
Forward Ryan O'Reilly played 17:03 in his return for the Maple Leafs after missing 14 games with a broken finger.
"Great to be back. It's the most fun I've had in a long time," O'Reilly said. "Just being out there and being competitive, especially against that team. A real tight game. It was tight everywhere and it felt great to be back. Overall for my game, I did some good things, still was kind of fighting the puck a bit and timing was a little off on certain things, but for the most part I felt great."
NOTES:Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (undisclosed) left in the second period following a collision with Patrice Bergeron. Coach Jim Montgomery said McAvoy was held out for precautionary reasons and that he does not think the injury is anything serious. … Boston played without center David Krejci (lower body). … Pastrnak has 11 goals in his past 11 games. … Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe played his 500th NHL game, and defenseman Mark Giordano played his 1,100th NHL game.