B’s miss pasta on power play
Struggle on man advantage without top goal scorer
David Pastrnak’s absence from the Bruins playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes extends beyond finishing plays on the first line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Pastrnak played 25 minutes in Game 1 of the series before suffering an undisclosed lower body and has been MIA since.
Pastrnak participated in the Bruins’ skate on Tuesday and could dress for Game 5 against the Hurricanes this afternoon (4) at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Pastrnak and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin shared the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 48 goals apiece before the NHL closed shop on March 12 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
What separated Pastrnak (48-4795) from Ovechkin (48-19-76) was the power play, even though they play similar roles in man up situations. Pastrnak finished with a league best 20 power-play goals to 13 for Ovechkin.
Pastrnak absence from the power play has been noticeable because he brings a credible threat to score on one-time slap shots from the left circle.
Pastrnak has been replaced on the elbow by veteran playmaker and second line center David Krejci. The Bruins were 0-for-3 on the power play in Monday night’s 4-3 victory despite several solid opportunities and extended ice time in the Hurricanes’ zone.
“One of the guys we rely on to bring the puck in is David (Pastrnak) but Krejci is very good at that,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy during a Zoom conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“How are we less effective without Pasta? Maybe (with him) we are able to finish some more. One of the things he does well is scoring on the power play from that elbow but Krejci was able to get a goal from there.
“I think we’ve functioned well and we’ve put Marchand in front recently. We’ve found a lot of our chances are happening in front there and nobody is tougher on the puck than Marchand.
“There have been a couple of adjustments there with Pasta out and we are functioning well but not getting the end result.”
The Bruins finished the shortened regular season with the NHL’s second most efficient power play behind the Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins scored 57 goals on 226 power play situations for a 25.2% success rate.
But after three round robin games and four matches against the Hurricanes, the Bruins are 3-for-24 with a 12.5% success rate. Krejci and defenseman Torey Krug, who quarterbacks the unit for the right point, both missed open nets in power play situations in Game 4 against Hurricanes goalie James Reimer.
“I’m only interested in the numbers in the playoff series against Carolina and haven’t concerned myself with the round robin, that’s behind us,” said Cassidy.
“Obviously the power play was not clicking very well there but against Carolina I think we have generated some good looks and the toughest part for us is gaining entry into the zone.
“They do a good job at the blue line so we try different things and one resulted in a goal the other night by( Charlie) Coyle. But we’ve had a little bit of tough luck on it.”
Crossing Jordan
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal participated in Tuesday’s practice and will likely be in uniform for Game 5. Staal exited the third period of Game 4 after absorbing a crushing but legal hit from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Staal landed hard on the ice, appeared dazed and required several seconds to get reacclimated to his surroundings. Staal was seen slamming his stick against a wall in the runway adjacent to the Hurricanes’ bench upon leaving the rink.
“We are actually kind of looking at him now and evaluating,” said Hurricanes’ coach Rod Brind’Amour.
More on McAvoy
McAvoy has been the Bruins most visible player in the series beyond taking down the 6-4, 220-pound, Staal during a critical moment in Game 4.
In the Bruins seven postseason games, McAvoy has averaged a team high 24:25 minutes playing on first unit alongside team captain Zdeno Chara. McAvoy has skated a team high 221 shifts followed by Chara with 178.
McAvoy has averaged 25.38 minutes in the four games against the Hurricanes that included 33:45 in the Bruins 4-3 double overtime victory in Game 1.
McAvoy records extra minutes on the Bruins first team penalty kill while skating behind Krug on the second power-play unit. He is always on the ice against the opponent’s best lines.
“Charlie is getting tough assignments in this series and we are moving forward,” said Cassidy. “He’s more physical and he’s taking more responsibility in changing the flow of the game.
“The big hit and trying to attack when we are behind, all that factors in and he’s much more involved in the penalty kill than when he first got here.
“All of a sudden he’s an all situation guy and the only thing he’s missed is that top power-play time and we’ve got Torey Krug there.
“You see his numbers going up and we need his legs and his physicality and he’s chipping up against 25 and 26 minutes. At this time of the year some guys are going to see a little bit more and he’s that guy.”
Hawerchuk passing
Both Cassidy and Brind’Amour had past associations with Hall of Fame center Dale Hawerchuk, who died Tuesday after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 57.
Hawerchuk was the first overall pick in the 1981 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets. He justified the selection by winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.
He would play 10 seasons in Winnipeg and later did time with the Sabres, Blues and Flyers. He retired with 518 goals, 891 assists and 1,409 points, good for 18th on the all-time list.
“I was fortunate to have played with him at the end,” said Brind’Amour. “In Philadelphia we played together on the same line and he was just a great person.”