Why a short memory might be one of David Pastrnak’s most underrated skills
"He's hard on himself. He expects great things from himself."
David Pastrnak was happy to be home on Monday.
Even though the 27-year-old winger lit the lamp and added three helpers during Boston’s recent four-game road trip, it was far from a flawless showing from the Bruins star forward.
In Boston’s 4-3 shootout loss over the Avalanche on Jan. 8, Pastrnak caught some flak on the radio airwaves for his game-deciding shootout attempt against Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
Despite Pastrnak’s knack for beating goalies through an array of dekes and gravity-defying dangles, he opted for a rather pedestrian shot that thudded off Georgiev’s pads en route to a loss.
During a 4-3 overtime defeat against Arizona the following night, Pastrnak failed to convert on a pair of breakaways that could have handed Boston two points. Instead, Boston lost Linus Ullmark to injury, and the game itself just a few minutes later.
And on Thursday, Boston dropped a 2-1 OT loss to the Golden Knights — with a miscommunication between Pastrnak and Brad Marchand giving way to a 2-on-1 bid for Vegas that ended with an Alex Pietrangelo tap-in tally for two points in the standings for the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
No player should be immune from criticism, even one as talented as Pastrnak. And even though the 26-8-9 Bruins would be in rough shape without Pastrnak (26 goals, 35 assists) sparking their offense, the perennial Hart Trophy candidate didn’t shirk from the notion that his lofty standards dipped over the last week.
But that doesn’t mean he’s dwelling on it.
“The season is long and this stuff is gonna happen,” Pastrnak said Monday of Boston’s recent road trip. “And with the experience I had and the great teachers … great guys, to learn from, mentors, throughout my career, you got to look for some reasons.
“It’s good to be coming back home, playing in front of your friends, and spending time with the family. So as a pro athlete, you’re looking for those little things, these little details and it was a good reset for me to get back home.”
It didn’t take very long for Pastrnak to reassert himself back on Causeway Street. He tallied his 26th goal of the year in Boston’s 3-0 win over the Devils on Monday afternoon — beating Nico Daws with a blistering one-timer on the power play.
He added a secondary helper on Charlie Coyle’s opening goal off a slick play in transition — marking the 21st time this season that he’s recorded two or more points in a single game.
Pastrnak’s loaded arsenal of O-zone moves allows him to bury a lackluster performance or two in short order — with a defensive miscue often assuaged by a two-tally game.
But for Jim Montgomery, it’s Pastrnak’s short memory and confidence that allows him to not dwell on slip-ups in a game littered with mistakes.
“When you’re used to scoring and doing as much as he does — [there’s] two games where maybe, whether he’s off or whether it’s the puck is not going in the net because he’s missing the opportunities — he’s hard on himself,” Montgomery said of Pastrnak Monday. “He expects great things from himself. … When we were in St. Louis. I went to talk to him in the morning skate.
“He’s done this to me several times. He cuts me off, doesn’t allow me to talk. And he says, ‘I’m gonna be good tonight. Don’t worry about it.’ And his effort in St. Louis (two assists, 20:46 TOI) was really good. And then you combine talent and effort? The production comes, and that’s what happened tonight.”
Even with a few lapses in overtime over the last week, Pastrnak has more than made up for any shortcomings in his overall game this season.
Without two franchise pillars in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci setting him up this season, Pastrnak is still on pace for 50 goals and a career-best 116 points this season. He has factored into 42.9 percent of Boston’s 142 goals during the 2023-24 campaign.
Pastrnak has augmented his game this season as more of a playmaker, especially given the talent drain that impacted Boston this offseason. But so far, it’s tough to argue with the results.
“You always change,” Pastrnak said. “That’s normal in a team sport. It’s the business. The teams change, the players change, players come and go. Obviously it’s a bit different when you have two players who’ve been here for decades to leave.
“So you definitely have to change and adapt. But I think the whole coaching staff and the players in this room — coming from the leaders — are doing great job stepping up. I’m loving what I see.”
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