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Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak began Thursday’s loss to Vancouver on the first line with David Krejci and Loui Eriksson. He was on the third line with Ryan Spooner and Jimmy Hayes by the second period. And by the end of the night, the 19-year-old skated with Zac Rinaldo and Max Talbot’s on Boston’s grind-first fourth line.
That is, by definition, a downward trend.
“In Pastrnak’s case, I know he had an assist tonight, but I think he had about four or five giveaways there, unforced errors,… B’s coach Claude Julien said about flipping Pastrnak around during last night’s home loss. “He’s playing against top lines and we need players to be better in those areas, so I tried to put a little bit more experience to play against that. And then put him, again, in a situation where maybe he has less pressure and more room, so that was one of the moves I made.…
Pastrnak, who finished the night with one assist and seven giveaways in 13:04 of time on ice, was initially flipped off the first line for Matt Beleskey, and then off the third line for Landon Ferraro.
And in five games since returning from a broken foot, though he would later miss three games with an upper-body injury, the Czech winger has recorded two goals and four points on five shots in a somewhat inconsistent role (Pastrnak’s had nights of seven minutes and nights of 17-plus since his return.)
But figuring out where the Bruins can slot him for optimum long-term success remains a mystery.
“I think that’s a decision as an organization you make along the way here,… Julien said when pressed about figuring out Pastrnak’s struggles fitting back into the mix. “Can he play here? Can he play on our top lines? Can he play – where do we put him so that he succeeds? So, we need to do the best thing for the player and that’s what we’re trying to do here, putting him with some good players and sometimes putting him on other lines where he’s got less pressure and probably can, I guess, use his skill level a little bit better. We’re doing our best here to try and give him an opportunity. He’s still 19 years old.…
The more I watch it, the more I get the sense that the Bruins really like the top-line wing combo of Beleskey and Eriksson, so breaking that up and throwing Pastrnak against other teams’ top pairings seems like a tough sell at the moment (and an unnecessary one given Boston’s offensive depth). A Hayes-Spooner-Pastrnak had shades of the Spooner-Pastrnak and Milan Lucic combo of a year ago for the brief time it was together, and while Hayes is not Lucic, the line had similar problems in the sense that they were frequently hemmed in their own end in spite of their offensive game at the other end.
I can’t really believe that plugging Pastrnak with Rinaldo and Talbot for seven, eight minute nights is the key to getting No. 88 on track. It worked for Pastrnak’s first game back in action, and the matchups will benefit him, sure, but he doesn’t play the game that complement what that line does. So maybe you’re left with the option of putting Pastrnak on the Patrice Bergeron line opposite Brad Marchand in an attempt to maximize his offensive capabilities while trying to hide his defensive issues.
Although it’s an extremely small sample size, the Bruins have put Pastrnak with Bergeron before with success. Doing that would take Brett Connolly, in the midst of a struggle if I’ve ever seen one, off that line and put on either the Spooner line opposite Hayes (a line that had absolutely no success at the start of the year) or down to the fourth line with Rinaldo and Talbot.
But that would pit Pastrnak in yet another situation where he’s often going against the opposition’s best forward group or top defensive pairing (though admittedly much of their focus would have to be on stopping the dynamic, three-zone one-two punch of Bergeron and Marchand).
And that sounds, at least at the moment, like something Julien and Co. want to avoid.
However, putting a slumping and/or young forward with Bergeron and Marchand, without a doubt the club’s two most consistent offensive talents, has been the Julien forward equivalent of sticking a defenseman with Zdeno Chara, though, so it still might be the B’s best option.
It’s just a matter of what you’re willing to live with as a coach.
(But if I had to guess, seven giveaways, no matter your feeling on the stat, is not something Julien will live with on his first, second, third, or maybe even his fourth line, from a teenager in the NHL.)
Postgame Podcast with the New England Hockey Journal’s Andy Merritt
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.