David Pastrnak responds to third-period benching
The Boston Bruins picked up two much-needed wins over the weekend as they look to put a sluggish October behind them, but Sunday night still ended on a bit of a sour note with coach Jim Montgomery benching star forward and assistant captain David Pastrnak for the third period of a 2-0 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Pastrnak committed a bad turnover on a power play late in the second period when he stickhandled into traffic at the offensive blue line and handed the Kraken a golden opportunity to cut into the Bruins' lead. Pastrnak did not play a single shift in the third period, instead sitting glued to the middle of the bench.
Montgomery said after the game that it was a coach's decision to sit Pastrnak and declined to comment any further. Pastrnak did not meet with the media Sunday night. Both parties discussed the situation further after Monday's practice, though, with Pastrnak taking accountability for his mistake, but not dwelling on it.
"Just got to be better," Pastrnak said. "You know, take responsibility of being better, but at the same time, I'm just moving forward, focusing for another game tomorrow. Yesterday was yesterday. I never look back, so just came in today and worked on my game today."
Asked if there was anything to be learned from the benching, Pastrnak said there was.
"Yeah, of course," he said. "That was a bad turnover. So, how I said, I take responsibility for it – accountability I guess is a better word. And, you know, I just want to move forward. I don't want to be any distraction to our team. The guys know how I feel about them here. It was a bad play, so how I said, I take accountability, but already moving forward."
It's the second time this calendar year that Montgomery has called out Pastrnak in one form or another, as Montgomery also said prior to Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the spring that the Bruins needed more from Pastrnak. Pastrnak, of course, then scored the overtime winner in Game 7 that sent Boston to the second round, and may have saved Montgomery's job.
Pastrnak said then that he had no problem with Montgomery's comments and agreed that he needed to be better. Asked about the two situations on Monday, Pastrnak said they're not quite the same.
"It's a little different, right? It was a playoff, and this was a little different," he said. "But how I said, I take full accountability. I wasn't good enough yesterday, and I came in and got better today. So, it was a good day, and I know we have a big game tomorrow in Toronto. Those are always big, like for our standings, for our group. So, that's my focus."
This wasn't quite the full-throated endorsement of Montgomery's methods that Pastrnak offered in May, or that Brad Marchand gave two weeks ago after Montgomery ripped into him on the bench following a similar turnover. But it certainly wasn't any sort of public contradiction either, and Pastrnak did take accountability for his mistake multiple times.
Montgomery has made it clear that he hasn't been happy with his team's play for much of the first month of the season, and he has now twice made an example of a team leader to drive home the importance of puck management and good decision-making when protecting a lead.
It's a bold tactic given the questions surrounding Montgomery's own job security (he is not signed beyond this season), but at least publicly, Bruins players continue to support their coach.
"There's no special treatment for anyone, and I think that's how it should be," Charlie Coyle said Sunday night. "I think we all take responsibility. I think if you ask any one of us who have been in that position, who have gotten an earful or whatever, it's probably for good reason. We're all competitive, we all want to play, but we all have to be responsible in our own way, and Monty holds us accountable. And that's only going to make us better as a team, individually, but as a team as well. I don't think guys would change that."
On Monday, Montgomery said he is grateful that the Bruins have a leadership group that allows him to hold everyone accountable, and praised Pastrnak for the way he handled himself on the bench during the third period.
"He was incredible. Very vocal, picking up players," Montgomery said. "The last 15 seconds, talking about what a great team win this is. I've said this since the beginning, I've said it numerous times: I'm really lucky to work with the leaders I get to work with. I'm very fortunate. In other places, you've seen coaches that – it's a big problem. I'm lucky with the accountability that exists in this culture and the leaders that I get to deal with, because that allows me to hold everybody accountable."
