At this point, you generally know what you’re getting from David Pastrnak.
But it’s been a minute since he’s experienced game action, so expect him to have to knock a little rust off.
The Boston Bruins’ star winger will make his season debut Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. He missed the start of the season due to offseason hip surgery, which he underwent in September.
He’ll slot in at his usual spot on the top line right wing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and he’ll have his typical role on the top power-play unit.
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy knows full well what to expect from Pastrnak, so he’s curious to see how he holds up physically.
“I’m sure he’ll bring offense, he’ll find pucks and get some looks,” Cassidy said over Zoom following morning skate. “It’s can he recover from a shift or a long shift if he gets stuck in his own end. Probably not really used to the physical play even though we tried to get him up to speed in practice — it’s just not the same.
“Washington’s more of a physical, big team, so that’ll be a challenge for him to make sure he plays with his head up, understand that it’s live now. That’s always the biggest challenge I think for anybody coming off a long layoff is the extended puck battles, the physical play, the traffic. Everyone’s skated, everyone’s handled pucks, it’s the other stuff that they’ve got to be ready for, and I imagine there will be some rust to shake off, he’s no different than anyone else. But we’ll try to get him through it.”
With a player like Pastrnak and the line he’s on, it’s hard to limit his usage during a game — especially if it’s close.
Thus, Cassidy isn’t holding the 24-year-old to any firm parameters.
“As for his usage, that’s probably the next question, we’re just going to play that by ear,” Cassidy said. “He’s in great shape, looks good out there, but we’re going to have to monitor that and, like I said, see how he recovers. Time and score or game situation will dictate the other part of it.”
Puck drop for Bruins-Caps is set for 7 p.m. ET.
