Jim Montgomery and the Boston Bruins are not playing with a full deck.
Back in Boston for the second leg of a back-to-back that kicked off with Friday’s thrilling shootout win over the Islanders (and playing their third game in four nights overall), the Bruins took to the ice for Saturday’s showdown against the Rangers still without the services of both center Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy.
And the Bruins took another loss on the personnel front before Saturday night was through, too, as David Pastrnak found himself ejected for a board on the Rangers’ Ryan Lindgren with 1:50 left in the second period of action.
David Pastrnak is given a five-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Ryan Lindgren. pic.twitter.com/Z3AhUfokZn
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 17, 2023
The five-minute major and game misconduct left the Bruins down an all-world scorer for the entire third period and overtime frame of what finished as a 2-1 overtime win for the Rangers. And it was enough for Montgomery to acknowledge the limitations currently in front of his club.
“You’re winning 1-0, so you’d like to get two points, but if you look at the adversity within the game that we faced, I’m really proud of our group for the desperation we played with [and] the togetherness,… Montgomery said after the loss. “Two nights in a row, we are shorthanded because of the injuries we have, but there’s a lot of guys that are playing with great compete. I think that our resiliency shows.
“We’re building some good things here with a lot of people getting minutes that normally wouldn’t if we were healthy.…
As for the game misconduct itself, Montgomery couldn't help but feel like the officials got it wrong, and that they were a bit too overzealous when it came to giving No. 88 the boot.
“Very surprised,… Montgomery said of the five-minute penalty and game misconduct. “I thought it was two minutes. I don’t think he hits him anywhere near his numbers. I think he hits him on the front of his shoulder.
"If I compare that to hit to hits I’ve seen, like when [Brad] Marchand got blasted from behind head-first into the boards … I think that’s more of a five-minute major for me. I guess I’m glad I’m not a ref.…
(I believe Montgomery is referencing the Givani Smith hit on Brad Marchand back in the Nov. 30 head-to-head between the Bruins and Sharks, which was indeed a two-minute minor.)
Marchand, for what it's worth, said that the explanation he was given was that because Lindgren was bleeding, Pastrnak's five-minute major and game misconduct was basically automatic.
Prior to this game slipping out of the Bruins' hands, it was Trent Frederic who put the club on top with a strong net-front finish 2:07 into the second period. Frederic also dropped the gloves with the Rangers' Jacob Trouba in their first head-to-head since Trouba took a baseball swing to Frederic's head in their Nov. 25 matchup at Madison Square Garden.
Marchand: “I think Freddy was still upset about the baseball swing to the head last time.… https://t.co/W7eQm5Rq94
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) December 17, 2023
All things considered, grabbing a point on the second leg of a back-to-back is welcomed every day of the week, and especially when you're without your top scorer, a top-six center, and your best defenseman. And grabbing four of a possible six points over a three-game stretch against the Devils, Isles, and Rangers is a win every time.
The Bruins will return to action Tuesday night against the Wild.