Bruins’ Montgomery calls out David Pastrnak ahead of Game 7
It has been a series to forget for Bruins superstar David Pastrnak.
Through six games, and with the Bruins facing the possibility of blowing a 3-1 series lead for the second straight postseason Saturday night at TD Garden, Pastrnak has recorded two goals and four points.
Pastrnak’s lack of production has been especially glaring in the last two games, with Pastrnak held off the scoresheet entirely, and with his greatest impact in Boston’s Game 6 loss coming with a double-minor high-sticking penalty. With the stakes at their highest, it simply hasn’t been good enough (especially by Pastrnak’s standards), and Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has put the Black and Gold’s top talent on notice ahead of a do-or-die contest in Boston.
“Your best players need to be your best players this time of year,” Montgomery said following the Game 6 loss. “I think they need to come through with some big-time plays in big-time moments. [Brad] Marchand has done that in the series, [but] Pasta needs to step up.”
Pastrnak is one of just several Bruins that need to step up for this team to avoid yet another impossible-to-imagine collapse. But in a series that’s been defined by gamebreakers — this series has had a Jeremy Swayman game(s), an Auston Matthews game, a Brad Marchand game, and now a William Nylander game — the Bruins simply need Pastrnak to break through before it’s lights out.
“[Pastrnak] needs to be the dominant player that we’re used to. He’s doing it in flurries, he’s not doing it as consistently as he did in the regular season. His linemates need to help, too. We’re not as good of an offensive team right now.”
As it relates to Pastrnak’s linemates, Pavel Zacha is currently playing some downright miserable hockey. Over his last two outings, Zacha has landed just one shot on goal and lost 22 of 27 faceoffs. Jake DeBrusk, who spent the majority of the game riding to the left of Zacha and Pastrnak, had himself a strong game, but it did not transpire into tangible production on the board, which is the name of the game this time of year and with the Bruins back at death’s door.
This was also Boston’s second straight game with an absolutely woeful start with a severe lack of action against the Maple Leafs’ Joseph Woll. That inactivity hit a new low in Game 6, too, with just one shot in the first period of play (and zero shots at five-on-fivre play) in the opening period of play.
Snipers like Pastrnak have to set the tone there, and they know it.
Speaking after the loss, Pastrnak acknowledged that he has to shoot more and that he has to have more of a shot-first mentality. This was something that was noticeable when the Bruins unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the Panthers a year ago, with Pastrnak the best player on the ice for the Bruins over those two games, with three goals in Games 6 and 7. Pastrnak was aligned for what would’ve been the game-winning goal in both games had it not been for shoddy goaltending and even worse defensive play, too.
And Pastrnak also knows that Game 7 presents an opportunity to break through (and boy does he need to), which is all anybody can ask for after an 82-game grind.
“We work the whole season so we have the advantage of being home,” Pastrnak said following the defeat. “We’re gonna get home and get ready for Game 7.”