Morning Skate: Eastward bound

How's that for a cap to a Pacific Division trip?

The Bruins are making their way back east with another W in their pockets, the latest a 5-2 win over Vegas.

Last night's win marked the end of their Pacific Division round jaunt, and it couldn't have gone much better.

The B's were 4-1-0 on the swing, the lone defeat coming to Anaheim in the last minute of the third period.

Not bad!

Before returning to the best coast, the Bruins have one more stop to make: Columbus, for a Saturday night showdown with the resurgent Blue Jackets.

Columbus is 7-3-0 in its last 10 games, and is actually the closest team to the Bruins and Capitals in those wild card spots.

Columbus plays tonight, and could make the gap 11 points with a win.

Not exactly a neck-and-neck race but the point is that the Bruins could further distance themselves pretty comfortably with a win.

However, the Bruins can also look ahead at this point too: they're now just four points behind Toronto for third place in the Atlantic Division.

After it seemed like the Bruins were resigned to a wild card spot a month or so ago, and now seems like higher aspirations are reasonable.

Also notable from last night's win was David Pastrnak eclipsing the 30 goal mark for the 5th season in a row.

After a bit of a sluggish start, he's now on pace to nearly equal his 48 goal season from two seasons ago, though he did that in just 70 games.

Good vibes all around right now. What's on tap for the weekend?

Today's discussion topic

Did anyone or any part of the Bruins' game impress you most on the Pacific swing?