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Bruins’ David Pastrnak takes accountability after third-period benching
"It's a bad play. So ... I take accountability and I am already moving forward.”
David Pastrnak found himself in an unfamiliar spot Sunday — serving as the partition between the Bruins’ crop of forwards and blueliners on Boston’s bench.
For the final 20 minutes of Boston’s 2-0 win over the Kraken at TD Garden, the Bruins’ top forward remained stapled to his spot in no man’s land on the pine. Benchings are a trusty avenue for coaches when it comes to both getting one’s message across and delivering hard truths in accountability to most NHL players.
Of course, David Pastrnak is not exactly like most NHLers.
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The 28-year-old Czech winger is Boston’s highest-paid player ($11.25 million AAV) and has carved out a resume as one of the game’s most gifted conductors of offense.
But Pastrnak’s misplays with the puck on Sunday were too much for Jim Montgomery to warrant keeping Boston’s top scorer out on the ice.
It was a move that a star talent like Pastrnak has rarely experienced during his 11 seasons in Boston, but one that he accepted on Monday morning.
“That was a bad turnover,” Pastrnak said. “So I take responsibility for it. … I just want to move forward. I don’t want to be any distraction to our team. The guys know how I feel about them here. It’s a bad play. So … I take accountability and I am already moving forward.”
Pastrnak’s ice time cratered on Sunday shortly after an ill-advised move with the puck on a power play. While attempting to stickhandle through traffic in the closing minute of the second period, Pastrnak lost control of the biscuit off of a poke check from Seattle’s Yanni Gourde, who carried the puck down the other end of the ice.
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Gourde was eventually steered away from Grade-A ice by Elias Lindholm, negating any chance of a shorthanded look for the Kraken. Still, it was a careless play from Pastrnak in a game where Boston was holding onto a two-goal lead.
Despite Pastrnak’s evident offensive talent, that O-zone creativity and panache have regularly led to turnovers — with the winger currently fourth in the NHL with 23 giveaways on the season (per Natural Stat Trick).
Granted, a high turnover rate is expected for offensively gifted forwards who hold onto the puck at a hefty rate — with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (25) the lone forward ahead of Pastrnak in giveaways.
Still, Pastrnak’s misplays with the puck have hampered Boston’s ability to get its offense rolling, with the winger’s stop-and-start chemistry with Elias Lindholm further complicating matters.
“I think it’s the same thing that’s in the whole team’s way,” Montgomery said Monday of what Pastrnak needs to do to get back on track. “It’s a little bit of chemistry … But if you look at the course of our season, we look disjointed at times.”
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Despite Pastrnak’s limited reps down the stretch on Sunday, the franchise forward still drew praise from Charlie Coyle for remaining engaged and encouraging on Boston’s bench, even as his ice time stayed stagnant.
Montgomery echoed a similar sentiment on Monday.
“He was incredible. Very vocal, picking up players,” Montgomery said of Pastrnak’s response, adding: “I’ve said this since the beginning. I’ve said it numerous times. I’m really lucky to work with the leaders I get to work with.
“I’m very fortunate. In other places, you’ve seen coaches where — it’s a big problem. And I’m lucky with the accountability that exists in this culture and the leaders that I get to deal with, because that allows me to hold everybody accountable.”
This is not the first time that Montgomery has put Pastrnak on notice — stressing that the winger needed to “step up” entering Game 7 of Boston’s first-round bout with the Maple Leafs last spring.
Pastrnak responded with a series-clinching tally in overtime to send Boston to the next round.
The stakes may not be as high at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night when the Bruins visit Toronto. But the Bruins will welcome any response from a motivated Pastrnak against the team’s Original Six foe.
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“It’s a little different, right? It was the playoffs and this was a little different,” Pastrnak said of comparing this benching to Montgomery’s postseason call-out. “But [as] I said, I take full accountability.
“I wasn’t good enough yesterday, and I came in and then got better today. So it was a good day. And I know we have a big game tomorrow in Toronto, and those are always big for our standings and for our group. So that’s my focus.”
Montgomery tuning out the noise
Boston’s back-to-back wins over the Flyers and Kraken last weekend likely alleviated some of the pressure weighing on Montgomery.
Given the lack of clarity as far as a contract extension, Boston’s inconsistent start, and the high expectations placed on this roster, Montgomery’s future with the Bruins remains murky — with a lopsided loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday elevating discourse that he was on the hot seat.
But even with his tenuous spot with the Bruins, Montgomery noted on Monday that he isn’t dwelling on the challenges ahead.
“The way I deal with it is — there’s a great poem. It’s called ‘Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow.’ And it’s a lot of what I believe in the process of our team is you only control the present,” Montgomery said of dealing with the pressure of his job. “And if you worry about the past and dwell on the past, it brings up anxiety or worry or contentment, depending on what you’re thinking about.
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“If you worry about the future, which you don’t control, well then you’re really gonna have anxiety. So that’s where my mindset goes. And with the struggles I’ve had personally, that poem really reinforced what I need to worry about, which is the next 24 hours. And that’s the way I live my life.”
Light work
Both Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle did not take part in Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, with Montgomery tabbing their absences as maintenance days. … Two Ontario natives in Matt Poitras (Ajax) and Justin Brazeau (New Liskeard) led the post-practice stretch ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against Toronto.
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