Jim Montgomery explains why David Pastrnak did not play in the third period against the Kraken on Sunday night.
Sunday night at the TD Garden, the Boston Bruins were looking for back-to-back wins in just over 24 hours. On Saturday, they shut out the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-0, behind 20 Joonas Korpisalo saves. The Seattle Kraken were at the TD Garden less than 24 hours after losing to the Ottawa Senators.
The Bruins started fast and jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead before the Kraken registered a shot on Jeremy Swayman on goals from Justin Brazeau and Charlie Coyle. Boston dominated the period and really the first 40 minutes, but only had two goals to show for it. It wasn't for a lack of chances.
In the third period, Seattle outplayed and outshot the Bruins to the tune of a 12-3 advantage in shots and hit two posts. In the end, they were not able to get a puck by Swayman on their 23 shots, but in the end, that was not the story of the final 20 minutes was not the 2-0 final. That was surrounding star David Pastrnak.
Jim Montgomery reveals why David Pastrnak did not play in the third period
Pastrnak did not play a single shift in the third period, but was on the bench. The NESN broadcast showed him coming off the bench and skating during a TV timeout. So what was the reason why he did not play in the period? After the game, head coach Jim Montgomery explained why his star didn't play.
“Coach’s decision in the third period. That’s all I’m gonna comment on,'' said Montgomery.
Despite not playing in the third period, Pastrnak still finished with a team-high seven shots on the net and that was all in the first 40 minutes. You can't say he didn't have his chances. If this was a coach's decision and not injury-related (fingers crossed), then Bruins fans need to look back to the first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series last May against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Following a Game 6 loss at Toronto that forced a Game 7, Montgomery called out Pastrnak and all he did was respond to his coach's comment. In overtime, Pastrnak scored the series-clinching goal off a pass from Hampus Lindholm. Montgomery said Pastrnak needed to step up and he did.
Again, if this was a coach's decision, then all you have to do is look back to the Toronto series and Game 7 to see how Pastrnak responded to being called out. This time, he was benched and where did the Black and Gold go next? That's right, Toronto on Tuesday night. The next 48 hours will be interesting to see if it was a coach's decision or something else.
