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Eight years into his tenure with the Boston Bruins, and with a multi-year extension under his belt, head coach Claude Julien has undoubtedly earned the trust of the front office of the Boston Bruins. And though Julien is a coach that goes to bat for his players every day of the week, he’s also a coach that demands his players play a three-zone game, and earn their ice time. First-year player or 15-year player, first-round pick or undrafted prospect, Julien expects the absolute most from his players, even if it’s not their strong suit.
That’s something that the 18-year-old David Pastrnak, the club’s first-round pick last June, and officially sticking with the Bruins after a hot nine-game start, is learning.
Bumped down to the Bruins’ third line on Thursday night, skating with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg opposed to the high-end first-line featuring David Krejci and Milan Lucic, Julien has seemingly brought the Czech winger back down to Earth with the acknowledgement that defense is a must. Or, in essence, that you can’t be a liability in your own end no matter the line.
It’s been a process, too.
Pastrnak logged just two third-period shifts in Boston’s win over Dallas last week. He received a slight bump the next night in Colorado, skating in five third-period shifts and two overtime shifts. In New York, it was a six-shift third from No. 88, with most of the minutes coming in garbage time during the B’s two-goal lead.
But in a close one-goal affair against the Kings, Julien trusted Pastrnak and his linemates to get the job done, and was rewarded by way of Kelly’s go-ahead strike just moments after the Kings’ game-tying goal.
“He stayed out there right until the end because he deserved to be out there until the end,… Julien said of Pastrnak’s performance in Boston’s 3-1 victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings at TD Garden on Saturday night. “And I thought in our own end, I thought [Pastrnak] did a great job of getting pucks out and making plays. So the offensive part of his game is there for me. Where we’re hoping he gets better and more experienced is on the defensive end, and tonight he showed exactly that he’s very capable of handling it. So that’s why a player continues to play when a coach feels confident and can rely on him.…
When it comes to handling the teenage winger, Julien and the Bruins are in an unusual position.
It’s clear that Pastrnak can play more of a defensive-minded game than some of the other prospects that have made their way through the Boston pipeline as youngsters (Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Spooner), so molding him to show more of that in his first year has its obvious pluses, but they also need to find ways to put him in positions to contribute with his offensive potency.
It’s a hard balance for Julien, no matter how simple he tries to keep it for all parties involved.
“Tonight what I saw from him was that he wasn’t a liability,… said Julien. “It’s when you’re stuck in your own end, and he’s not getting pucks out, or he’s getting out muscled and stuff like that, and there’s some panic in the game then you say okay well maybe I’ve got to cut my bench down.
“But tonight I thought he was solid along the walls and not only that but he was patient – even instead of just chipping it out he made some plays. So when you see a player do that – and that’s something that at the beginning of the year was a real issue for him when he went to Providence. So I give him so much credit for improving so quickly in that area. And again, you see him every night there’s always a little bit of a highlight here or there – he dodges a big hit in front of their bench and creates a nice play – and that’s what you want him to do, and that’s what I keep telling him – go out there and play your game, have some fun, and the little things that you need to work on we’ll work on with you. But I don’t want him overthinking.…
That could go for fans, too, as Pastrnak’s six-game goalless stretch should be far from something to fret about given the Black and Gold’s desire for the 5-foot-10 winger to continue to evolve into an all-around NHLer.
Super Sunday
Every Bruins player sported a 'Do Your Job' Patriots winter cap during last night's pregame skate, and in their postgame media scrums. Milan Lucic went as far as to share his thoughts on the epic showdown between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, too.
"I hope that it’s going to be a good game. Obviously the two top teams of each conference going at it in the Super Bowl. The “Legion of Boom… there is going strong the last five, six games of the season right into the playoffs," Lucic said. "So I think that’s going to be a challenge for the Patriots but as far as the Patriots go, they’re looking real healthy right now and that’s a big asset for them. Obviously being a Patriots fan I think they’re going to pull it out and bring a fourth Super Bowl here to New England.
"I said 28-21 the other day so I’ve got to stick with that," Lucic continued. "I’m leaning more towards a like 27-24, 24-21 type of game."
For what it's worth, he also picked Rob Gronkowski for the game's MVP.
I'll follow Lucic's thinking here, and go with my gut, calling it a 28-24 win for the Patriots.
(I've been nervous about this game for like four days now.)
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com