Maybe all it took for Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak to snap out of his recent funk was to be steamrolled at center ice.
Pastrnak was caught on the business end of a bone-jarring hit from Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Clendening on Thursday in the opening minutes of Game 4 of the teams’ Stanley Cup playoff second-round series. It could have been the latest lowlight in what’s been a frustrating playoff run for Pastrnak.
It might ultimately serve as a turning point.
The Boston sniper quickly returned to his feet and rejoined the play. Twenty-nine seconds later and with the Nationwide Arena crowd still buzzing from the big hit, Pastrnak — posted up in the familiar comfort of the left faceoff circle — blasted home a one-timer from Charlie McAvoy to give the B’s a much-needed 1-0 lead just 3:33 into the pivotal game.
After scuffling through the first round and three games of the second round, Pastrnak might be turning the corner. For the most part, Pastrnak put his uneven performance behind him, also recording an assist in Boston’s 4-1 series-tying win. The Bruins now must hope the Game 4 showing gets Pastrnak — along with his linemates — back on track as the now best-of-three shifts back to Boston.
“He’s a proud guy. You’re talking about, again, what is he, 22 or 23?” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of the All-Star, who’s three weeks shy of his 23rd birthday. “He’s a young guy that’s still going through some of that maturity process and learning how to compete this time of year. He’s got good players around him to help him through it. He’s got the trust of his coaching staff. So we’re going to allow him to play through it.
“He’s a great kid if you know him at all. He cares a lot. He’s matured over the years, but he’s still a young guy learning what it takes. We’re here to help him with that, and as long as he keeps working hard, he’s going to get every opportunity to get out there. We may limit certain situations because we’re trying to win, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a lot of faith in David. And hopefully, it just keeps getting better for him.”
The two-point showing aside, Pastrnak’s game still wasn’t perfect. The perplexing pattern of pucks wandering away from Pastrnak’s stick continued, and it was his soft play near the blue line that almost led to a Blue Jackets shorthanded goal.
“He muffed some plays,” Cassidy admitted. “There might be a comfort level there, I don’t know what’s going on there. It’s not like him. I think he’ll play his way out of that, but he does have to compete hard on those pucks, and that was the message to him and my only criticism.”
Pastrnak, meanwhile, was just happy to play a role in helping the Bruins even the series.
“Yeah, I mean, we won, right?” he told reporters after the game. “That’s the biggest thing for me. How I felt, I don’t know. I’m gonna look it up (Friday), learn from the mistakes and try to get better.”
If Pastrnak can find a way to be even better moving forward, the Bruins should feel pretty good about their chances of moving forward and into the conference finals.
