Kalman: Bruins Need David Pastrnak's Production In Order To Make Playoffs
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- All of a sudden Bruins forward David Pastrnak has a dark cloud hovering over his head, and not just because he's gone two games without a point.
As if battling the Ottawa Senators and their neutral-zone trap wasn't frustrating enough, Pastrnak had a skate issue that kept him off the ice for about three minutes during the second period of the Bruins' 3-2 loss at TD Garden on Tuesday.
While Pastrnak was on the bench getting his skate repaired and his gloves dried, Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo deflected a puck into the bench. The stray puck hit Pastrnak's right wrist. Pastrnak responded by spiking the puck off the ice sheet from the bench; life as one of the Bruins' premier players as they attempt to make it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs might be getting to the 20-year-old right wing.
"I got it right to my wrist, so I was pretty mad," Pastrnak said.
The Bruins as a team would be forgiven if they were out of patience after their losing streak stretched to three games. One night after losing 4-2 in Toronto (a game that was essentially 2-1 and was partly decided by a questionable penalty on Dominic Moore), the Bruins dropped a one-goal decision to the Senators despite outshooting them 36-22.
There are a handful of teams in the postseason hunt in the Eastern Conference, but only one that collapsed each of the past two seasons and missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins. The Bruins got some help because Tampa Bay lost to Arizona but the Bruins have put themselves almost in a must-win situation against the Lightning on Thursday.
Doubts left over from the past two seasons have to be bothering the Bruins.
"I haven't thought about it, haven't talked about it. It's a different feeling this year and it's not going to happen," said Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, who did his part to give the Bruins a chance with an end-to-end power-play goal that tied the score 2-2 early in the third period. "I know we have a lot of pride in this room and the guys that have been through it. There's no other option except making sure that we stay on course and take care and do our jobs."
That's where Pastrnak comes in -- he has to make sure he stays the course. For all their maneuvers, the integration of young players, the coaching change and the changes to their style of play, the Bruins have two goal scorers -- Brad Marchand and Pastrnak. Marchand has also gone two games without a goal but he set up Boston's first score in Toronto and he always gets his scoring chances. Marchand's proven how clutch he can be down the stretch and in the playoffs, most famously in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals.
Pastrnak has enjoyed a breakout season with 31 goals but his track record under pressure has yet to be written. He has yet to reach the playoffs in the NHL and he's never been the focal point of a team trying to make the playoffs. With his talent and the Bruins' lack of scoring depth, teams can focus on Pastrnak. And sometimes they can get a little rough with him. Both the Maple Leafs and the Senators took their shots at him, and he responded in kind with shoves and checks but no points.
"I don't know, it's part of hockey. You don't want to be thrown around, you know," Pastrnak said. "So you're going to give a response and it's just hockey."
The best response Pastrnak can give is a goal or two. He had a career-best 11-game point streak before he ran into the stingy Maple Leafs. He landed two shots on net against Toronto and then had three more shots against Ottawa. But there were times when he should've shot and instead passed, times that he shot but wasn't as accurate as he needed to be. He fanned on a third-period one-timer during a crucial power play.
Coach Bruce Cassidy, who seems a little less like a super genius now that the Bruins are 5-5-0 in their past 10 games, is confident that Pastrnak's mini-slump won't become a giant problem like the 17-game drought he endured in December and January.
"It looks like the puck's not cooperating with him and it happens to goal scorers. So he's just going to have to play through it," Cassidy said. "He did earlier this year. Clearly we don't want it to be as extended as it was then. I don't think it will be. He's a more mature player and person. But he'll have to find his way through it. And sometimes you need to score an ugly goal, get to the net, get a greasy one to get out of those things. We'll see how it plays out. But he's got to keep pushing, we need him, we're relying on him to score. He's not the only guy, but we're relying on him."
He's not the only guy; he's one of two. The Bruins won't make the playoffs if Pastrnak doesn't score at the pace he's filled the net most of the season -- that's just an unfortunate fact. In the third period against Ottawa, Cassidy pulled the emergency lever and put Pastrnak with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. That trio has seemingly come through every time it's been together this season. But not against the Senators, even with Tuukka Rask pulled for an extra attacker for the final 1:27 of regulation.
Luckily for the Bruins, despite the random pucks hitting him on the bench, the failed skate, the great saves by goaltenders and the missed scoring chances, Pastrnak's not living in a fantasy world or making excuses. He's ready to carry the burden over the Bruins' last nine games.
"You know I've got to be better," he said. "I've got to do more plays and get better, going to be better."
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
