David Pastrnak of the Bruins is hurting his team more than helping it

BOSTON – David Pastrnak on fresh ice usually causes problems for opponents. The Boston Bruins superstar is a real eye-catcher in all situations, but he's especially dangerous in first-shift situations after TD Garden's Olympic ice resurfacers have completed their rounds.

Just 11 ticks into the second period Thursday, Pastrnak found himself in the penalty box for hitting Roope Hintz of the Dallas Stars. It wasn't the first time Pastrnak had been booed during this time.

Later in the second period, Pastrnak was chasing a puck in the offensive zone when he picked off Matt Dumba. It ended one of the Bruins' better down-low tournaments.

It's bad enough when Pastrnak, the Bruins' best player, goes off the ice. It's even worse when the opponent scores on the power play.

“No question,” Pastrnak replied after the 5-2 defeat when asked whether he had taken too many penalties. “I think I got two penalties. To be honest, I can't remember taking as many penalties in my career as I have this season. You can leave this first penalty alone. I just tried to take him down. But the second is, frankly, unfortunate. I think I was trying to get to the puck and I speared the guy. Definitely bad on my part. It is not possible to put the team in a short-handed situation twice in one game. I definitely took too many penalties today.”

Pastrnak has committed seven minor penalties in eight games. His rate of 0.86 minors per game is significantly higher than last season (0.20). He was called up for 16 minors in 82 games in the 2023/24 season.

It would have been one thing if the Bruins had played well, confidently and with purpose. In recent years, penalties have occurred when the Bruins committed unnecessary infractions.

But the Bruins are disengaged. That shows in her game.

“Our mindset needs to go in a better, healthier direction,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “Like you’re trying to control what you’re controlling, which means you’re trying to outdo your role. Our settings are not at the moment. You depend on results. And when you have a results-oriented mindset, you tend to take too many punishments. Because you get frustrated quickly. And you tend to turn the puck over a lot because you don't want to work for the offense. You want immediate results. And that attitude of not being willing to work for what we want to achieve and our team play is causing some problems at the moment.”

As a result, the penalty kick failed both times Pastrnak was in the penalty area. The first time, the stars Hampus Lindholm and Johnny Beecher suffered for two failed clears. Jamie Benn knocked Jason Robertson unconscious in the bumper. Jeremy Swayman had no chance with Robertson's quick strike.

DOWN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/pbbgUiuzIT

– Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 25, 2024

Before the second power play goal, Mason Marchment caught all four penalty takers leaning toward the left side of the ice. Marchment sent a slot line pass to Tyler Seguin, who was all alone on the opposite side. The former Bruin had all day to get the puck into the right faceoff dot and shoot past Swayman.

5 games, 4 goals. Seggy is hot. pic.twitter.com/YgaHikOvRx

– Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 25, 2024

Pastrnak wasn't the only player to visit the penalty area in the second half. Parker Wotherspoon went off for interference after missing a clearance attempt. On the PK, Charlie McAvoy attempted a play-high kill in the Boston zone. But before McAvoy could close, Marchment set up Matt Duchene for a one-on-one with Logan Stankoven on Lindholm. Stankoven received the pass from Marchment and shoveled the puck past Swayman.

“You can’t take as many penalties in the second half,” Montgomery said. “It is the most difficult time to bring about changes in the penalty shootout. So guys, in the end you're tired out there. When guys are tired, they will make mistakes and not implement them. That happened on two of those goals.”

Pastrnak scored one of the Bruins' two goals. But it was in a four-on-four game. While playing on the No. 1 line with Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm, he scored nothing in five-on-five play. Pastrnak did nothing in a game-high 4:25 of power play time.

Pastrnak, more than any of his teammates, has the offensive talent to influence the outcome. But he only has one five-on-five goal. Pastrnak scored just two goals in a team-best 37:43 PP.

Of course, Pastrnak can't score as he's whistled off the ice. The Bruins pay Pastrnak $11.25 million annually to score goals and win. Don't sit in the penalty box.

(Photo: Fred Kfoury III / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)