Pavel Zacha scored his 22nd goal of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday night, setting a new career-high.

It’s not the only one this season, and with 14 games left, he may not be done. 

His 22nd goal lifts him above his previous career-high of 21, which he reached in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 after arriving in Boston in July 2022. 

Sixteen of his 22 goals have come at 5-on-5. He has spent the majority of the season playing with Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt on his wings; though injuries have separated them at times, Marco Sturm has prioritized keeping them together. 

“I think we’re clicking with our line, it’s a lot of fun playing with them,” Zacha said after the Bruins’ overtime loss on Tuesday. 

The second line has connected for 33 5-on-5 goals this season, the third most in the NHL. They have a plus-17 goal differential, which is the second-highest in the league (Lehkonen–MacKinnon–Necas, plus-21).

Marco Sturm pointed to that after Zacha’s two-goal game on Tuesday night. 

“Good teammates,” Sturm said when asked what makes the Czech center so productive. “Also, him, you know, staying with it. He’s just feeling it this year, I feel like. He’s been very good. I give him the support, we give him the support. He’s got his linemates.”

Seven of his goals have come since the Olympic break, and he leads the Bruins with 12 points (7-5–12) over the last 11 games. 

Zacha is outspoken about his desire to play down the middle, and he knows that he has to prove that he can play there. He said it after scoring a hat trick against the Rangers, then again after a hat trick in Pittsburgh.

“I always said that I like to play in the middle,” Zacha said after scoring a hat-trick on Sunday. “Coming here to Boston, it was one of the opportunities that I knew I’m going to play wing and center. And there would be opportunities in the future for me to play center. I like that, and I think they keep giving me chances to play center.”

Marco Sturm said he is using his shot more, which has coincided with a career-high shooting percentage. He has connected on 22 of 107 shots (20.6%) this season. 

Another part of Zacha’s success is on the man-advantage. He went from two power-play goals last season to eight this year. 

“I also think power play helps a lot, too,” Zacha added on Tuesday. “We’re better on the power play than last year. So, it kind of gives you more of the looks and points there.”

Zacha has scored the last three Bruins’ power play goals; they have scored five (of 35) since the Olympic break. He has skated on the top unit with David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie, and Charlie McAvoy. 

His eight power-play goals are a career high, as is his 18 power-play points. 

With Marco Sturm calling for his “top guys to be his top guys,” Pavel Zacha has produced some of the best hockey he has played in his NHL career.

And with 14 games remaining, the Bruins will need his level to stay high as they enter the playoff push.

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