‘Neighbor connection’ becoming Bruins’ overtime legends

They don’t play much American football in Sweden or Czechia, but the Bruins’ game-winning connection in overtime in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory looked a lot like a creative quarterback connecting with a smart receiver on a broken play for a big gain.

After Marat Khusnutdinov forced a turnover inside the Boston blueline, Hampus Lindholm scooped up the puck and turned into the quarterback looking down the field.

David Pastrnak, whose No. 88 is appropriate for a receiver, had just come on after a line change. From the right wing boards, Lindholm spotted Pastrnak coming off the bench on the other side of the ice and flipped the puck through the neutral zone where it hit him in stride.

With a defenseman just behind him, Pastrnak charged toward the left post and then stopped abruptly.

Alex Lyon bit on the fake and couldn’t reverse his body’s momentum. Pastrnak shifted back and tucked it around the Sabre goalie’s left skate inside the right post.

“We are neighbors. We always call it the ‘neighbor connection.’ No it was a just great play,” Pastrnak said. “Great eyes. Seems like anytime he has the puck and I have an opening, I have the confidence that he’s going to find me. We have the chemistry. It’s fun and I’m happy we connected today.”

It wasn’t their first time connecting. In fact, Boston’s last OT playoff win featured the same hook up.

On May 4, 2024, the Bruins were in overtime in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Less than two minutes into overtime, Lindholm had the puck at the red line, and saw Pastrnak racing into the zone.