David Pastrnak Experienced Eye-Opener Before Winner Vs. Kings
For many Bruins fans, it probably feels like just yesterday that David Pastrnak was the new kid on the block at TD Garden.
Now in his 11th NHL season, Pastrnak is an elder statesman on Boston’s roster. The 28-year-old still is very much in his prime, but he had a moment Saturday afternoon when he was reminded of his seasoned status.
“I went ‘Oh my god I’m on the ice with these kids,’” Pastrnak told reporters of his overtime shift against the Los Angeles Kings, per 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson.
The “kids” Pastrnak referred to were Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras, who assisted on the superstar’s sudden-death goal that sealed a 2-1 win for Boston. Both Lohrei and Poitras are under 24 years old, but they will be integral pieces to the Bruins’ 2024-25 season. While Boston will largely lean on its upper-echelon players like Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, Lohrei and Poitras can complement those vets on a nightly basis with their speed and high energy.
Pastrnak certainly benefited from those assets in Boston’s second win of the season. The Bruins will try to make it three in a row Monday when they host the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at TD Garden.
The Florida Panthers have dropped their first two road games for a second straight season, but can jumpstart this four-game trip in a hurry this afternoon when they visit the Boston Bruins.
Florida earned its lone win of the season by beating the Bruins 6-4 in its emotional opener last Tuesday; Conversely, Boston sustained its only loss against the Panthers last week.
Today’s game starts at 1 p.m.
The Panthers have had mixed results on their first road trip of the season.
Thursday in Ottawa, the Panthers went down 2-0 but controlled the game in the second half and were down 2-1 when Sergei Bobrovsky left the net.
The Panthers came up short in finding the tying goal, however, as Sasha Barkov snapped his stick then got hurt sliding to try and block the puck and ended up crashing into the boards at full speed.
Saturday, playing without Barkov and a sick Matthew Tkachuk, Florida took the initial lead on Nate Schmidt’s first goal with his new team but ended up chasing the host Sabres the rest of the way in a 5-2 loss.
Tkachuk should be back in the lineup today.
Florida, of course, will not be at full strength minus Barkov but should be laser-focused against the rival Bruins.
