BOSTON - David Pastrnak didn't score the first goal of his rookie season until Jan. 10, 2015. Of course, he didn't play in his first game until Nov. 24 - and played just six games from his debut to his first goal.
But this season should be much different for the 19-year-old Czech forward, and that was very apparent in the beginning of the third period of Thursday's season-opener.
Pastrnak, in a 2-on-1 with Matt Belesky as a second Jets defender quickly closed in, elected to keep the puck and ripped a snapshot that went top shelf, stick side past Ondrej Pavelec, who didn't have a prayer on that one.
At the time, the goal was huge. It brought the Bruins to within one of the Jets, 3-2, and turned momentum back in their favor for the time being. But just a few minutes later the Jets took back control.
"That's what we were focusing for after the second period: get the first goal for 3-2," Pastrnak said. "We got it and all of a sudden we got the bad goal for 4-2. This game we didn't get two points and that's all that matters. We jus have to throw it behind our heads and keep focusing for another game."
Before Pastrnak notched his first goal of the season, he played a major role in the Bruins' first goal of the season. Some strong forechecking won Pastrnak the puck behind the Jets' net. As he skated around from the back to the left side, he sent the puck towards the net, where it eventually found David Krejci for the goal. Pastrnak didn't get credit for the assist as it hit a Jets defenseman first, but he created the opportunity.
Pastrnak did not practice on the power play unit the day before Thursday's opener, so it was no surprise that he wasn't out there for the team's man advantages.
Claude Julien, while not specifically mentioning Pastrnak, had said that some players need to earn power play time. If that's the case, Pastrnak took a step in the right direction Thursday night.