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WATCH: David Pastrnak Scores Twice, Ties Crosby For NHL Lead In Goals

By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- There's no way to positively spin the Bruins' ugly 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. The team is struggling to consistently score - that is, except for David Pastrnak.

The 20-year-old's breakout season continued against the Avs with two more goals, giving him 18 on the season. Watch above for his second goal, which vaulted him into a tie for the NHL lead in goals with Sidney Crosby.

Let that sink in: Pastrnak leads the NHL in goals. Along with Crosby.

Pastrnak was the lone positive to extract from an otherwise poor performance by the Bruins, who mostly played down to the level of their competition - the Avs enter Friday tied for last place in the NHL standings. But Pastrnak got the Bruins back in the game by himself with two goals to cut a 3-0 second-period deficit to 3-2.

His first goal came after getting out of the penalty box, as Pastrnak streaked into the offensive zone all alone on Avs goalie Calvin Pickard. The winger was stopped on the first effort but backhanded his point-blank rebound chance into the net to put the Bruins on the board.

Pastrnak's second goal came just 1:20 later, as he buried a one-timer from high in the slot off a pass from Brad Marchand. It was a superlative effort from Pastrnak to get the Bruins back in the game, but former Bruin Carl Soderbergh scored 3:42 later to put the Avs up 4-2 and never look back.

It's disconcerting that the Bruins have yet to find reliable, consistent secondary scoring beyond their top line. They can't continue to be so overly reliant on Pastrnak and sustain enough success to make the playoffs, let alone be a threat to go on a run. However, Pastrnak's incredible season continues to get better and that has been one of the biggest developments of the season so far.

It's up to the rest of the Bruins to help out.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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