DALLAS — David Pastrnak has been feeling it, and that’s because he’s been seeing it.
And by it, we mean everything.
Long one of the NHL’s elite goal scorers — he has 411 in 801 games — Pastrnak has developed into one of the league’s preeminent playmakers. His anticipatory skills are uncanny, as he seemingly sees plays a millisecond before they develop.
“Looking around, always be alert when I get the puck, always trying to already think what I’m going to do before I even get the puck,” Pastrnak told the Globe Monday. “So, that’s my main thing. If I see the puck coming, I’m already trying to see what to do with it.”
The right wing’s jaw-dropping passing will often leave teammates shaking their heads and smiling. Lots of times those sweet dishes result in goal celebrations.
The latest example of his wizardry came in the win over the Blackhawks where he blindly zapped a pass through the slot onto Marat Khusnutdinov’s stick for an easy tap-in goal.
Pastrnak, who entered Wednesday tied for eighth in the league with 40 assists, will be the first to tell you he loves scoring goals, but he gets just as much satisfaction in setting up his teammates for success.
“Honestly, playmaking, I feel like you can’t teach that, right? You’re going to just either have it or you don’t,” Pastrnak said. “I don’t think it’s like goal scoring. You can learn how to score, where to score goals, how to shoot. You can work on that, but I think the playmaking is different. I just am blessed and lucky to have that ability to see the ice, see the guys. So yeah, I enjoy it.
“Honestly, it’s any time you score a goal or help with the pass, like I did for example [in Chicago], that makes you happy to see the goal scorer is happy. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Pastrnak’s ability to score makes him the focus of most defensive plans and he garners a lot of attention. This tends to open up space for his teammates.
“Obviously one of the reasons I start playmaking more is because I do feel the other guys are in [a] better spot or have a better opportunity to score, whether it’s because sometimes teams might play me a little harder or differently. So sometimes there is space,” said Pastrnak. “I definitely feel that the reason is that we have maybe a little bit less space out there to score. And like I said, many times with [Morgan Geekie] being such a good goal scorer also helped me to do the playmaking.”
Pastrnak said familiarity is a key component to playmaking.
“It’s always also about chemistry, right? So, if your linemates know you and know what area to go to, that’s obviously a huge part of playmaking,” he said. “Every playmaker needs a goal scorer with him to capitalize on those chances. I think obviously it has a lot to do with seeing the ice and seeing the play, but at the same time, you need the chemistry with your linemates to make it happen.”
Defenders are starting to take notice that Pastrnak is not a one-dimensional, shoot-first and shoot-only player.
“His reputation precedes him, obviously, as a goal scorer,” said Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. “But I have noticed just kind of watching the data that he is racking up assists, and I feel like he draws guys toward him because you have to respect his shot so much, and then he just kind of dishes it off and finds the guys. Geekie, especially, has benefited from that. But yeah, he’s a pretty well-rounded offensive player.”
For the record, Pastrnak’s favorite came in November 2019, when he split a pair of Rangers defensemen to set up good buddy David Krejci in overtime.
“I don’t think I will ever forget it,” said Pastrnak, flashing a devilish smile. “It was a pass to Krech. I toe-dragged a defender and then passed it back for him for the one-timer against the Rangers. That was a nice one.”
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The Bruins were off Wednesday but did take care of some business, signing winger Alex Steeves to a two-year extension through 2027-28, with an annual salary-cap hit of $1.625 million. Steeves, who has played up and down the lineup, has eight goals and 14 points in 33 games ... The club also assigned defenseman Billy Sweezey to AHL Providence. The Hanson native had been with the club on an emergency basis … You can go home again: The Stars reclaimed defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers from the Bruins and loaned him to the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.