David Pastrnak didn’t find the back of the net for the third game in a row. Here’s why the Bruins should not be concerned.
Saturday night saw the Boston Bruins fall to the Colorado Avalanche for the second time this season. Boston didn’t get much offense all night from the forwards, including top-line winger David Pastrnak.
Pastrnak currently finds himself in his first real rough patch of the season. The loss to Colorado was his third straight game without a goal, something that hadn’t happened yet. Pastrnak also was a -1 for the second game in a row.
In his last three games, Pastrnak only had one assist. And that was only a secondary assist on David Krejci‘s goal against Carolina. He also had six total penalty minutes in three games, obviously not ideal for a Bruins team that needs him on the ice.
On top of all that, Pastrnak faces more and more physical play every game. Opposing teams clearly try to be extra-physical with him to limit his time and space on the ice.
This was especially evident last Sunday against Montreal when Pastrnak faced a few questionable hits from the Canadiens. We saw similar plays against Chicago and Colorado. Pastrnak’s a true superstar now, so he’ll face this level of physicality every night.
Based on these past three games, should Pastrnak’s play concern the Bruins moving forward? Definitely not.
Despite the zeroes next to his name on the scoresheet, Pastrnak continues to generate chances. He had eight shots on goal in his last three games. Shots on goals aren’t always quality chances, but they usually are for a guy like Pastrnak. There’s a reason why he still leads the league in goals.
Pastrnak also finds himself in dangerous areas on the ice shift after shift. Against Colorado, he drew an important penalty because he went straight to the front of the net. Then on the power play, he lined up in his usual spot up top to pull defenders toward him.
Pastrnak’s presence on the ice opens things up for his teammates, and that’s why he can still be effective even without goals. Look at Torey Krug’s goal against the Blackhawks as an example. Pastrnak drew two defenders to him, and this led to the scoring chance.
Torey Krug ties it up. On to overtime. pic.twitter.com/ulsm7hIj5D
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 6, 2019
Pastrnak didn’t get an assist on this goal, but the Bruins don’t score without him. Jake DeBrusk had all the time in the world to find Krug in front.
That said, the Bruins need Pastrnak to bounce back and find the back of the net on this upcoming road trip. Boston goes up to Ottawa and then faces a back-to-back with Washington and Tampa Bay. The schedule definitely gets tougher for the Bruins, so they need their top goal scorer to be at his best.
The Bruins hope to get Patrice Bergeron back on the trip, and this will benefit Pastrnak. He’ll have the chance to reunite with his top linemates for the first time in a couple weeks. With those three on the ice, look for Pastrnak to once again find his goal-scoring ways.