David Pastrnak is coming off a career year. As the Boston Bruins completely dominated the regular season, breaking all kinds of records, Pastrnak was the primary offensive key. He was a Hart Trophy finalist who led the Bruins with 113 points and 61 goals—ranking top three in the NHL in each category.
But this season will be special and different for both ”Pasta” and the Bruins. Long-time Bruins and veteran star players Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have retired. It’s tough for any organization to lose a leader, but to lose two will be a real challenge for the Bruins.
And that also means a bigger responsibility for players like Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand has been named the new captain of the Bruins, but Pastrnak will play a significant role as a leader and influencer in the group.
But what Pastrnak displayed during Tuesday’s pre-season game against the Washington Capitals wasn’t perhaps what the fans wanted to see.
David Pastrnak assisted James van Riemsdyk’s 1-1 goal just 53 seconds into the game. But other than that, Pasta had a quiet night and instead drew attention for a completely different reason.
The game went to OT, and there, Matthew Phillips took the puck and, without any struggle, walked around David Pastrnak to snipe home the win for the Capitals. Pastnrak looked everything but sharp in the defense, and fans were quick to mock the star player for the defensive play.
It’s important to point out that it’s still the pre-season, and players don’t want to take any risks with injuries, but many still believed he could’ve done more to stop the goal.
”The term gets thrown around a lot, but Pasta’s a legit pylon there. An actual orange cone may have even been harder to get around because it doesn’t skate away,” one user on Reddit said.
”Lol Pasta couldn’t have tried less there,” another said.
”Thankfully his impact on the offensive end makes up for it, but man his defensive game might be the worst on the team,” a third added.
Watch Pastrnak trying to play defense here:
