How a shift in his attacking mentality helped David Pastrnak finally orchestrate a breakout performance

When the calendar flips to December, there are certain things etched on the docket that are all but inevitable.

Lugging your fake Christmas tree up from the cellar.
Frantically racing over to the Natick Mall for some last-second gift shopping.
Listening to Mariah Carey on every audio-centric medium.
Bracing for the “Is Die Hard a Christmas movie???” debate at the company party (it is, by the way). 

And for the Bruins, it’s usually been relishing in the sight of David Pastrnak slicing and dicing his way through an opponent's defensive structure. 

In years past, December has indeed been the most wonderful time of the year for the B’s top sniper. From 2018-2020, Pastrnak appeared in 29 total games in December — racking up 37 points in the process. 

But in 2021, there were few good tidings to draw from when it came to Pastrnak’s production, especially in regards to his defining metric — which is putting pucks in the back of the net. 

While a COVID-impacted pause lowered Pastrnak’s sample size this December to just seven games played, the 25-year-old winger’s stat line did little to inspire much confidence — posting just two assists and zero tallies over that stretch.

For as much as Bruce Cassidy wasn’t hitting the panic button in regards to Pastrnak’s dearth of baseline production just a few weeks ago, it’s only natural for a player to begin to press with each passing game that a goose egg is etched into the stat sheet.

At least, that would seem to be the logical reaction — especially for a guy with the scoring pedigree that Pastrnak boasts. 

“Not really,” Pastrnak said Tuesday night about any adjustments to his game during his slump. “Just get into the rink and put the work in. Sometimes you're gonna work out there for every single bit of ice and then other times it just keeps bouncing your way. It is what it is. That's hockey.”

Alas, the bounces once again did not fall Pastrnak’s way for most of Tuesday night's game against the Devils. 

So instead, Pastrnak — looking to finally rid himself of his nine-game goalless drought — opted for the former scenario and drove through whatever ice was there in front of him. 

And what do you know — the fortunes of the hockey gods finally fell in Pastrnak’s favor.

With Boston mired in a 3-3 deadlock against a woefully shorthanded Devils crew, Pastrnak picked a perfect time to light the lamp for the first time since Nov. 30 — driving to Mackenzie Blackwood’s doorstep in the crease and attempting to tuck a Grade-A shot past the netminder. 

His first attempt was denied, but Pastrnak made good on the resulting rebound — roofing it into twine to give Boston a lead it would not relinquish. 

Pastrnak’s late-game heroics were a welcome sight for Cassidy — not only for the rather obvious rationale behind getting Boston’s top scorer rolling once more, but because it was delivered on a night in which a number of the B’s other big guns were firing blanks.

Granted, the primary takeaway during Boston’s three-game winning streak has been secondary scoring finally erupting across the depth chart. Of the 14 tallies that the Bruins have buried over the last week, just two have come from the usual offensive sources in Marchand/Bergeron/Pastrnak.

And while plenty of praise should be doled out to both a re-energized Frederic-Nosek-Lazar line that accounted for two tallies and a rookie in Oskar Steen (1 goal, 4 hits) that continues to look like an NHL regular – Tuesday’s 5-3 final was also a reminder of how critical Pastrnak’s game-breaking skill in the O-zone is to this team’s success.

"I don't think some of our top guys had their best tonight,” Cassidy said. “It's gonna happen. Our support people were excellent and then one of your top guys comes through when you need him. I mean, that's a good formula. You can't always have your A game. 

“But when you don't, then you damn well better bring your B game to help the team win and I think Pasta recognized an opportunity. … "I think earlier this year, that's one I'm not sure we win, right? Like we were letting some of these get away.”  

Pastrnak finally snapping his longest goalless skid since a 10-game spell from Dec. 2017-Jan. 2018 is certainly a major step in the right direction — especially considering the first 55 minutes of Tuesday’s contest was more of the same for Pastrnak when it came his recent scoring woes. 

While, yes, some pucks haven’t fallen his way in the past month (and other Grade-A chances have routinely clanged off posts and crossbars), Pastrnak has also not been able to convert from some of his usual sources of O-zone production — with a whiff on a juicy power-play chance on Tuesday standing as the latest example.

Pastrnak certainly has the talent to routinely bury chances from outside of high-danger ice. But as we noted in our latest deep dive on the winger, Pastrnak hasn’t exactly made things easier on himself when it comes to his choice of shot selection — ranking near the bottom of the league in terms of the quality of said chances.

As such, Pastrnak seems to be switching up the formula when it comes to his O-zone modus operandi. With pucks not falling his way, Pastrnak is keeping it simple and making more of an effort toward driving to the net.

And even though his third-period tally was the first time in which he was actually rewarded for such efforts, Cassidy added that Pastrnak’s presence down low has played a part in a number of other goals over the last few days. 

"I think he's been going to the net,” Cassidy said. “For example, I know it's a late goal — but he's at the front of the net on Carlo's late goal. He was at the front of the net on McAvoy's goal that Hall fed him in Detroit the other night.  So his willingness to get to the net without the puck has been good when it's his turn, so to speak. 

"I just don't think he's executed his shot as well as he'd like. On the power play, some teams have been taking him away. We haven't been on it a ton. And sometimes when you mix up the lines as well — he's had good chemistry with Bergy and Marsh. I mean, I'm stating the obvious. So he's developing a little bit with the other line. So that will take some time. It's resulted in goals for us, shifting people around. That's the positive. We're here to win. And it's a team effort. But in some cases for guys, that could be a bit of it as well.”

When everything is clicking for Pastrnak, he likely isn’t going to be tasked with screening netminders and tipping shots in the blue paint a la Nick Ritchie. But until those howitzers start sailing into the net on the power play, Pastrnak’s current strategy sure seems like the best way at getting the ball rolling.

And if the Pastrnak that the Bruins know is bubbling under the surface can regain his form in short order — a B’s lineup that’s finally playing with a few winning hands is primed to receive a much-needed trump card. 

“It felt good,” Pastrnak said. “Obviously been in a little grind lately. But we've been playing well. The game overall is fun. Every line is rolling right now. Hopefully we can keep going and keep winning like that."