Jim Montgomery calls on David Pastrnak to "step up" for Bruins in Game 7
BOSTON -- For two straight games, with a chance to eliminate the Maple Leafs and advance to the second round of the playoffs, the Bruins have been thoroughly outplayed for the opening period and beyond. In Game 5, they landed two shots on goal on seven attempts. And in Game 6, their shot total for the opening period dropped to one.
And though Toronto largely failed to capitalize by building a lead in either game, that complete lack of any chance of offensive success has put the Bruins behind in terms of game flow and early momentum. To help solve the issue, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is looking to his best offensive players -- and David Pastrnak specifically.
"Your best players need to be your best players this time of year," Montgomery said after Thursday's 2-1 loss in Game 6. "I think the effort is tremendous. They need to come through with some big-time plays in big-time moments. I think [Brad] Marchand has done that in the series. Pasta needs to step up."
Marchand, of course, delivered a captain's performance in Toronto in Game 3, scoring two goals (one was an empty-netter) and adding an assist to help give Boston a 2-1 lead in the series. Marchand scored again and had another assist in Game 4, as the Bruins built their 3-1 series lead. Though Marchand has been kept off the scoresheet the past two games, he has three goals and five assists in the series.
Pastrnak, though, has not nearly matched the level of production he delivered in the regular season, when he carried the Bruins' offense with 47 goals and 110 points. (He had 18 goals and 43 points more than anyone else on the roster.) He picked up an assist on Trent Frederic's empty-net goal in Game 1, scored his lone goal of the series in Boston's Game 2 loss, picked up another empty-net assist in Game 3, and scored the Bruins' third goal in their 3-1 win in Game 4.
Like Marchand, Pastrnak has not registered a point over the last two games, leaving him with four points in six games. He did land four shots on goal in Game 6, but one came from the neutral zone and another came from more than 60 feet out. He was also bumped off the puck quite a bit and got knocked to the ice several times.
Through six games, he's tied with defenseman Charlie McAvoy for third on the team in points this series, behind Marchand (8) and Jake DeBrusk (5) and ahead of Frederic and Morgan Geekie, who have three points apiece.
The abysmal starts have hardly fallen on Pastrnak's shoulders entirely. But now with the season on the line in Game 7, Montgomery is looking to his star goal scorer to deliver.