David Pastrnak becomes latest Bruins star put on notice by Jim Montgomery
If you were to look at the box score and nothing more, Bruins superstar David Pastrnak had a perfectly fine game.
Deployed for 14:21 in a 2-0 victory over the Kraken, Pastrnak had a team-high seven shots on goal, drew a penalty, and even had a blocked shot. The Bruins also outshot the Kraken by an 8-1 mark with Pastrnak out there at five-on-five play. Not the kind of night that earns you Hart Trophy votes, of course, but ‘fine’ for a box score viewing on a night that also featured a 0-0-0 line on the scoreboard.
But Pastrnak’s night ended after just two periods, as Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery decided to staple his top offensive weapon to the bench for the entirety of the third period.
And when asked after the game, Montgomery seemed to make it clear that this was not an injury-related issue involving the 28-year-old Pastrnak.
“Coach’s decision in the third period,” Montgomery said when asked about Pastrnak’s lack of third-period shifts. “That’s all I’m gonna comment on.”
(There’s no way to get injury out of that.)
One thing of definite note when it came to Pastrnak’s night was a deke attempt made by the often-electric wing at the red line with the Bruins on the power play. The play did not go the way that Pastrnak had hoped, and actually led to a great opportunity for the Kraken in a game where they simply did not generate enough of them. In essence, it was very nearly Pastrnak giving life to a dead team.
Again, Montgomery would not divulge exactly what went into keeping Pastrnak off the ice for all of the third period, but it was perhaps the most truly egregious error off his stick in this contest.
And turnovers have been an issue for Pastrnak (and pretty much everyone on the Bruins this season), with Pastrnak currently sitting with the fourth-most giveaways in the NHL this season, with 23. That makes Pastrnak one of just six forwards to have at least 20 giveaways this season, with the club also featuring the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (25), New York’s Vinny Trocheck (21), Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (20), the Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov (20), and New Jersey’s Jack Hughes (20). As always, it’s worth noting that players asked to transport the puck will naturally have higher giveaway rates than ‘passengers’, and this list is proof of that, but it’s still a number that the Bruins find unsustainable.
Or, at the very least, found unsustainable in the third period of Sunday’s victory.
And though the season is just 13 games old, Pastrnak is not the first star player to be sent a message by Montgomery this season. In fact, Montgomery’s benching of the Black and Gold’s most dangerous offensive talent came just over two weeks after Montgomery got in Marchand’s ear and even gave him a push after a brutal giveaway that led to a Utah goal (eventually called back after a Boston challenge).
“We all play on the same team. There’s no special treatment for anyone, and I think that’s how it should be,” Bruins center Charlie Coyle said when asked about Pastrnak not being out there for the third period. “I think we all take responsibility. If you ask any one of us who’ve been in that position who have gotten an earful or whatever, it’s probably for good reason. We’re all competitive and we all wanna play, but we all gotta responsible in our way and Monty holds us accountable. And that’s only gonna make us better as a team. I don’t think guys would ever change that. We’re grown enough to accept that.”
Pastrnak, who has totaled six goals and 11 points through 13 games this season, did not speak after the game. But Coyle noted that it was not a move that left the B’s star disengaged as a spectator.
“[Pastrnak] wasn’t silent. He was bringing energy, he was talking, he was into it,” Coyle offered. “That’s the sign of a good teammate right there. That’s why he wears a letter and he’s one of our leaders.”
The good news for Pastrnak is that the benching and subsequent callout will serve as a lead-in to what should be the get-right matchup of all get-right matchups for No. 88, with the Bruins set for a Tuesday night showdown with the Maple Leafs up in Toronto.
