BOSTON – It’s no underestimation to say that David Pastrnak could hold the key to the Bruins’ fate for the rest of this season.
It’s been a star-crossed year for the 19-year-old with a slow start, injuries and another trip to the World Juniors stuffed into a challenging first half to his second NHL season, but Pastrnak is showing all of the encouraging signs of a late-season turnaround. The puck prodigy put a big, fact exclamation point on that turnaround on Wednesday night with a pair of goals in a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff-style game at TD Garden.
Pastrnak was all the offense that the Bruins would need in the first two periods and was the best player on ice for either team in an extremely important game for both sides.
“[Pastrnak] has been good for a while. I don’t think it’s just tonight. I’ve liked his game now for probably the last three [or] four,” said Claude Julien. “He’s come off a major injury and he’s had to catch up with the rest of the guys, and it takes time.
“At the beginning he really looked like he was having a tough time, but right now he’s certainly shown that he’s getting better, and feeling more and more confident. To me, [against the Penguins] he was the guy for all three periods that I thought skated really well for us.”
Pastrnak led the Bruins with seven shots on net and had the same kind of energized skating legs that helped him become a scoring menace for the Black and Gold the final few months of last season. In the first period, he got behind the Penguins defense, collected the stretch pass from David Krejci and drew a penalty-shot call after getting clashed by Derrick Pouliot. Pastrnak slowed things down on the penalty shot and beat Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Bruins the all-important lead in a game against one of their closest competitors in the standings.
As it turned out, Pastrnak became the youngest player in the 92 years of Bruins history to successfully score on a penalty shot.
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“It was my first in my mind right away to shoot five-hole because I had four earlier last season and didn’t score any of them,” said Pastrnak. “So, I kind of was nervous and didn’t know what do, and I stick with the first thing on my mind. Happy it went in.”
In the second period, Pastrnak once again used his speed and hockey IQ to lull young Pittsburgh D-man Olli Maatta into a rough pass attempt from behind the net. The Bruins right winger easily picked it off, faked out Andre-Fleury and then flipped a forehand wrist shot into the net for his first two-goal game of the season. It staked the Bruins to a 2-0 lead and showed the kind of all-around game that Pastrnak has been playing in the past handful of games.
No longer is Pastrnak flying by plays or getting blown off the puck. Instead, he’s getting his nose dirty, he’s learning how to come out of the puck battles with a win and he’s growing the swaggering confidence that’s been missing for far too long this season.
“When you look at David last year, even the beginning of this year, every time he was in a battle along the walls you’d find him on his butt. So now he’s a little bit more…it’s not just about being stronger, it’s also about the experience. I think he’s getting a little bit lower versus standing up straight; the minute you stand up straight you’re off balance. He’s trying to avoid the hit, and that was hurting him more than anything else,” said Julien. “It’s really gotten better in there. He’s never been a guy to shy away. As you know, he was on his butt because he was going there.
“But he’s getting a lot better along the walls and his skating game. The fact that he’s been playing now for a while has made a big difference, too. Like I said, that injury set him back quite a bit there. So it’s nice, again, to see him find his game, and he was really a good player for that line tonight.”
What’s important for the Bruins is that Pastrnak is showing up in the heavy, playoff-style intensity games and acting as a difference-maker. On a team that’s largely been carried by Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Loui Eriksson, the Bruins need other, younger players to consistently step up in those high-intensity contests.
Pastrnak is showing that he wants to be that guy for the Bruins and it’s clear from the dazzling skills that he could be that guy if desire, experience and a little good, old-fashioned luck all come together in beautiful Black and Gold concert over the last 20 games.
“Early on when Pasta came back it was, it was tough. Any time you miss a bunch of games and you’re out for a bit with an injury, it’s tough to get back. Guys, they’re working so hard every day. They’re constantly getting better and moving past you,” said Brad Marchand. “So he’s done a great job working hard and coming back, and he’s playing phenomenal right now.
“That’s what we need from him. You know, he did a great job stepping up tonight, and when he plays like that it’s exciting, you know, with his speed and skill, and the opportunities he created. It’s great to have him playing like that.”
It’s great for Pastrnak to be playing like he did last season, as teenaged prodigy with an entire brilliant career in front of him, and it’s great for the Bruins to have an X-Factor like him who could really tip the scales in some of these important games down the stretch. With three goals and six points in his past eight games and a breakout performance against the Penguins, it will be pretty enthralling to see how much more Pastrnak has in store as it all seems to be coming together at the right time.