When David Pastrnak says he’s feeling good about his game, it’s a positive sign for the Boston Bruins.
Despite a 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday night at TD Garden, Pastrnak scored two goals – his 16th and 17th of the season. He also scored twice during Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s clear that his confidence is growing, which is crucial since the Bruins have not won in four straight games since the holiday break.
“Today, I felt really good,” he said. “It was one of my better games. I felt good energy-wise. I felt confident. I was making plays, and our line was all around it the first two periods, and then in the third, we scored two goals. It’s crazy how hockey works. Our first two periods as a line, we spent almost every shift in the offensive zone but just couldn’t score. Then in the third, it finally broke, and I felt great today.”
Pastrnak, who scored 47 goals last season, hasn’t had the same offensive spark this year, but he’s starting to find it. He scored two goals in the third period against the Islanders to tie the game at 4-4, and almost ended it with a great chance in overtime.
“It’s obviously always nice to score goals,” he said. “You don’t take it for granted in this league, but it would definitely feel better if you end up with the win. There are mixed emotions, but I just want to get on a winning streak.”
Pastrnak had a great chance in overtime, but Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made a solid save when Pastrnak tried to stuff the puck in on the short side.
“I had so much speed, I should’ve just gone to the forehand and put pressure on the goalie to match my speed,” he said. “Looking back, if I put it to the forehand, I don’t think he could’ve matched my speed and I could’ve stayed on the strong side. Yeah, I definitely regret that one. I could’ve put the game away.”
The Bruins haven’t been playing their best during this stretch, but even coach Joe Sacco is encouraged by Pastrnak’s recent performance.
“88 came up big for us,” Sacco said. “It was a good weekend for him with back-to-back multiple-goal games. He wants to produce for the team. I thought he did it really well tonight, especially with the way he played his overall game.
He was solid and logged a lot of minutes on back-to-back nights. Certainly, whenever you have a guy like him, a goal scorer, and they start feeling good about themselves, that confidence is a good sign.”
