As part of The Leafs Nation’s Atlantic Division preview series, the TLN staff are examining the most compelling storylines and angles from each team. Here is our deep dive on the Boston Bruins and below is the second part of the Bruins preview:
Boston controlled just over 51 percent of the expected goals when Pastrnak was on the ice at 5-on-5 but he boasted a plus-25 goal differential while playing overflow minutes across several lines and his usage is in rare territory for a winger. He was a part of three of Boston’s four most commonly-used lineups throughout the regular season and he’s relied upon to augment his teammates. Pastrnak necessitates a gravity effect — a term first applied to describe Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, but a concept that’s widely applicable to hockey, where a superstar scorer commands the unwavering attention of the defense, thereby creating space for his teammates to attack. All three of the aforementioned lines produced a better share of the actual goals than the expected goals and that’s largely because of Pastrnak’s ability to create instantly.
This is a direct passage from my March 4 notebook, when Pastrnak torched the Maple Leafs:
I don’t think there’s a single player in the NHL who gives the Maple Leafs more difficulty than David Pastrnak. During the Dec. 2 game — the final Leafs game I watched in-person, Pastrnak scorched the Leafs with his shot and tonight, the mere threat of his shot opened so many lanes for Pavel Zacha, who scored twice despite his game-time decision designation. Pastrnak’s shot-fake to Morgan Geekie opened the scoring and froze Toronto’s defense as Boston’s superstar threaded a perfect pass before William Nylander and Pontus Holmberg could close out. Jake DeBrusk won a puck battle against Calle Jarnkrok and Simon Benoit, dished the puck over to Pastrnak, who calmly surveyed the ice from the corner and found Zacha for his first of two goals. And it was Pastrnak again who got a decent shot on goal, scooped up his own rebound, then threaded another terrific pass to Zacha for a 4-1 lead — Timothy Liljegren was so entranced by Boston’s No. 88 that he didn’t bother to box out Zacha. He was far and away the best player on the ice tonight.
It’s a new season ahead for the Bruins, who saw several key contributors including Jake DeBrusk, Jesper Boqvist, Jakub Lauko, and Derek Forbort among others depart in free agency, with Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov as the major additions. Linus Ullmark has been traded to the Ottawa Senators while Jeremy Swayman’s contract status remains unresolved. Pastrnak could be carrying a larger load of the offense than he has during any stretch of his career, featuring on the first line with Lindholm and Pavel Zacha, while playing overflow minutes with Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand — who revealed this week that he underwent three corrective surgeries in the offseason.
Pastrnak is one of the NHL’s elite forwards, he boasts one of the most explosive releases in the NHL, he can thread incisive passes from anywhere inside the offensive third and he’s going to be tasked with producing another 110-point plus season to mask the lack of depth scoring across the board. Is he up to the task? Pastrnak is far and away the best player on the Bruins and it’s a slight change in his role, with the same attendant expectations to compete for a Stanley Cup.
