“Coaching decision. I’m not going to comment further,” said 55-year-old Canadian coach Jim <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/the-ny-yankees-reportedly-signed-a-former-boston-red-sox-pitcher/" title="The NY Yankees reportedly signed a former Boston Red Sox pitcher”>Montgomery. The only time Pastrňák appeared on the ice during the final act was when he skated during the television break. This is definitely not normal. At the same time, the Bruins celebrated two clean sheets in a row, when after Philadelphia (3:0) they also nullified the Kraken team (2:0). They last managed to do this in the fall of 2008.
Pastrňák had seven shots on goal during the first two periods, the most of the season. Although he didn’t score, he had a hand in the first goal when he drew the attention of Seattle’s defense and created space for Charlie Coyle to finish. It should also be credited to the Czech attacker that he did not take offense in the final passage and constantly encouraged his teammates.
“He wasn’t quiet. He brought energy, he talked a lot. He was hooked on the match. That’s the mark of a good teammate. And that’s why he’s also one of our leaders,” Coyle claimed.
But Montgomery has more demands on the team’s key figure. This year, during the first round of the playoffs, he did not hesitate to publicly criticize Pastrňák in the series with Toronto. Reaction of the Czech striker? The go-ahead goal in overtime of the seventh game.
Thanks to the two wins, the Bruins improved their record to 6-6-1 and moved into the middle of the Atlantic Division with 13 points. “We came together as a team,” claimed American goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman, who had 23 saves.
From Boston’s perspective, however, embarrassment still prevails over the level of play on display. The fans were mainly surprised by the recent 2:8 debacle with Carolina. The interplay between Swedish reinforcement Elias Lindholm and Pastrňák is also not working. In his two hundred-point seasons, number 88 had completely different starts. In the fall of 2022 and 2023, Pasta collected twenty points (8+12 and 10+10) in 13 games.
“We still have to work on how to control the game. But we are winning, which is a good sign. There will always be some outside noise. But we have to slam the door to the dressing room so nothing gets in. This allows us to move forward,” Montgomery said.
The Bruins next play Wednesday night in Toronto and then have two home starts against Calgary and Ottawa. Sport.cz will be there right in Boston’s TD Garden. Hopefully we’ll see Pastrňák in his element again.
