When you look back the Bruins’ performance over the past couple months, one person stands out and is absolutely the most surprising addition: David Pastrnak.
Pastrnak, an 18-year-old rookie whom the Bruins acquired, has not let them down so far, and is giving them something to think about as the trade deadline approaches.
His offensive position has hit a bit of a lull since he has not scored since his back-to-back two-goal games against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.
But Pastrnak was a huge help in the win against last year’s Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings, and gained the extra experience he needs in the professional world of the NHL. The Kings are the type of team that will play as hard as they can, especially with playoffs approaching and wild card spots on the line.
On Saturday, Pastrnak played in the defensive zone with Carl Soderberg and Chris Kelly on the third line. He is beginning to show head coach Claude Julien that he can play in different positions. He has shown him that he can play the offensive part of the game, and now he’s beginning to prove himself on the defensive end as well.
The only problem with Pastrnak is giving him the opportunity on the ice to get better, along with worries of putting him up against big defensive players, and of him getting hurt.
But when you look back at past rookies like Tyler Seguin, they have only shown improvements in their playing abilities. It would be stupid for the Bruins to let Pastrnak go when he has such promise and drive.
The Bruins and the Kings fought for those two points but the Bruins came out on top with a 3-1 win still fighting to hold onto the wild card spot.
[Photo: BruinsDaily.com]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
