Bruins' David Pastrnak understands he needs to do more

David Pastrnak exited the visitor’s locker room at Nationwide Arena Monday night and appeared exhausted. He also looked disappointed, which is unusual for him, because he’s always smiling.

The Bruins had just lost 4-3 in a shootout, and Pastrnak finished with three assists. It’s obvious opponents are keying on him more this season, and he’s been held without a goal in the last three games. It also doesn’t help that linemate David Krejci has been sidelined with back issues, and the earliest he could return to the lineup is Saturday when the Bruins host the Capitals.



Without Krejci, along with fellow centers David Backes and Ryan Spooner, the Bruins have lost a balanced attack, which has forced Bruce Cassidy to load up the top line with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak. It works, but it’s not ideal.

Elite players can handle any role, and that’s one aspect of Pastrnak's game that's still developing.

“Pasta’s always going to get going offensively; he’s too good a player in this league,” Cassidy said. “I don’t take issue with Pasta. He may click better with Bergy and Marchy, and we know that. But he’s been asked to play on a different line and produce. He’s going into that leadership category now. He’s not (Anders) Bjork and (Jake) DeBrusk, so he’s going to have to put some of that on himself if he’s not with (Bergeron and Marchand). Ideally for our team to be successful, that’s what we’ve determined -- we need to spread out the offense.”

With the Bruins trailing by three goals on Monday, Cassidy made the decision to reunite Pastrnak with Bergeron and Marchand. The coach said that line will stay together, at least to start, against the Golden Knights Thursday at TD Garden.

“He’s a phenomenal player. He makes plays and that’s what he does,” Marchand said of Pastrnak. “We played really well together last year, the three of us, so we just have a chemistry that doesn’t take long to build. We just seem to click with one another and we seem to be able to make some plays. When it happens, great, and if we’re with Bjork, he’s been awesome this year too. Regardless of who we play with on any given night, we have to be ready to do our job.”

Bergeron understands the importance of a balanced lineup, but the Bruins need consistent offense from at least one source, even though opponents can focus and defend Boston’s top line.

“We know how to play with each other; we have chemistry and it’s always been there,” Bergeron said. “You could see from the first shift that it’s still there. We created some good things on the power play, too, so we carried that over to the 5-on-5 play. We competed harder and we got the pucks back and good things happen when you do that.”

It’s an easy decision to have that trio together, but Pastrnak will need to take on more of a leadership role offensively, no matter who he’s playing with.

"Those two guys have been together for so long and they have such good chemistry, so for me it's easy to get in there," Pastrnak said. "I've been around a lot of lines in the last couple of years, so it doesn't matter who I play with. I'm trying to do my best (and) trying to always get the offense going."

He admitted that he changes his style of play depending on who he's playing with, but he's learning that he needs to shoot more.

"I'm more of a shooter, so I'm going to have to start thinking like it," Pastrnak said.