After the Bruins lost their third straight game head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters the players’ “attitudes are not in the moment” but rather on results.
David Pastrnak agreed after losing games in succession, players start “squeezing” their sticks instead of focusing on the details. The Bruins star forward admitted it’s up to the team to turn it around.
“We can still say it’s early (in the season), but definitely, we know we got to be much better,” Pastrnak told reporters, per team-provided audio. “I think that’s why you can see a little frustration to in the team because we expect the highest standard wearing the Spoked-B. It’s an honor, so it’s a high standard here. So, definitely, that’s why you see the frustration, but it’s up to us, all the guys, leaders to bring it back and focus on details and get on the winning streak.”
The Bruins added to their league-leading penalty totals with five minor penalties in a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The Stars capitalized for three power-play goals. Pastrnak was in the box for two of the three strikes for Dallas. He has committed seven infractions in eight games this season.
“There’s no question. Definitely I took two penalties,” Pastrnak said about taking too many infractions in the loss. “I honestly can’t remember taking this many penalties in my career as it is this season. … I put the team in a shorthanded situation twice in one game. I definitely did take too many penalties.”
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Through the first eight games of the season, the Bruins have lost 88 minutes of manpower on their league-leading 44 minor penalties and have allowed nine power-play goals while shorthanded. Nikita Zadorov broke a seven-game streak by not committing a penalty for the first time this season in Thursday night’s loss. The defenseman leads the team with nine infractions through eight games.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images
