For full disclosure, I really believe that David Pastrnak was lying when he told reporters after the Boston Bruins' embarrassing Game 4 loss that he wasn't hurt. Hockey is notoriously bad at being honest about its players' injuries, and that is even worse during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pastrnak's leg could be falling off the bone, and he'd tell everyone that would listen that he was fine.
It might be a bit harsh, but Bruins fans almost have to hope that their top offensive player is playing hurt. If not, that means he is playing some of the worst hockey of his career at a crucial time as the team's leader. After the Bruins' 6-1 loss on Tuesday, Pastrnak denied any notion that he was hurt, but everyone had better be crossing their fingers that it was a flat-out lie.
Pastrnak can be a bit of an anomaly in the fact that you look at the box scores and believe that he is playing great hockey. Through four games, in which two of them were brutal for the team as a whole, Pastrnak is already averaging over a point per game with a goal and four assists. He has been able to get his name on the scoresheet, but his play when he isn't recording points is uninspiring at best.
The Bruins' star looks slow in comparison to playoff-level hockey, is getting knocked off the puck too easily, and isn't exactly sticking his nose into the fight to take contact. It is part of Pastrnak's game, but watching him try to stickhandle through defensemen on every rush is also going to start getting a bit old for Bruins fans who like to see their stars have a little bit more of a "go through the defender" mindset than a "go around them without taking contact" mindset.
It wouldn't be the first time Pastrnak looked beaten up in a playoff series, and we later found out he was playing through an injury. However, if the Bruins go out with a whimper in Game 5 and Pastrnak ends up in Switzerland wearing a Czechia jersey at the World Championships, some uncomfortable conversations might need to be had.
Add us as a preferred source on Google