Ames: McDavid won the battle, but Pastrnak helped the B's win the war on Monday

Connor McDavid is different.

With 115 points in 61 games, the Oilers superstar is the clear favorite for the Hart Trophy and his two goals against the Bruins on Monday give him an eight-goal cushion for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

In McDavid's eight seasons, the future Hall-of-Famer has finished with at least 100 points in six of them, including the pandemic-shortened season in 2020-21 with 105 points in 56 games.

It's safe to say that McDavid is in a class of his own, yet the Bruins' David Pastrnak isn't too far behind Edmonton's generational talent.

Although McDavid got the better of Pastrnak on Monday statistically, Boston's star winger still proved his value with the assist on Pavel Zacha's go-ahead goal during the second period. Pastrnak trails McDavid in the Rocket Richard race with 42 goals, and even though he didn't find twine against the Oilers on Monday, Pastrnak is just as much of a threat with the puck on his stick.

McDavid takes advantage of his other-worldy speed to set up many of his tallies, while Pastrnak's booming slap shot and high hockey IQ create a bulk of his scoring chances.

Take Monday night, McDavid's first goal was the result of getting behind the Boston defense and then outskating Charlie McAvoy. 

On the other hand, Pastrnak had three or four great looks late in the game during the B's extended power play, but his shots were blocked from his favorite spot in the left faceoff dot.

While Pastrnak likely won't catch McDavid on the stat sheet, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder is on pace for a career year in goals and points. Pastrnak's previous season-high in goals was 48 back in 2019-20, which also counted as his best point total as well with 95.

Pastrnak's playmaking ability often gets overlooked too because his goals are usually so pretty. Against the Kraken last week, Pastrnak used a spin move to help set up a David Krejci goal.

Pastrnak will never get the same outside attention as McDavid, and that's alright because McDavid deserves every bit of praise thrown his way, however the Bruins have their own stud that has helped Boston become the best team in the NHL this season.

The B's improved to 46-8-5 for 97 points while the Oilers sit at 72 points and a 32-21-8 record.