It’s been a great weekend for the Boston Bruins. They shut out the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in a 3-0 win, and just over 24 hours later, they yet again shut out an opponent in a 2-0 win over the Seattle Kraken. But afterward, most talk was about David Pastrnak, and Jim Montgomery’s decision to bench him in the third period.
The Bruins started the game hot and held a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Kraken had even registered a shot on Jeremy Swayman in goal for Boston.
The Bruins outplayed and outshot the Kraken in the first two periods of the game, but few people could’ve possibly guessed what would happen in the final frame of the game. David Pastrnak, a superstar forward and a cornerstone in Boston’s offensive plays, finished the game with a team-high of seven shots on goal … and that was only for the first 40 minutes of the game.
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Pastrnak was on the bench for the entire third period and didn’t play a single shift in the third period. Pastrnak was shown skating during a TV timeout during the NESN broadcast, so it appeared unlikely that he was injured.
Benching a player of Pastrnak’s caliber is not usual in the NHL, and fans immediately started speculating about why he didn’t play. Post-game, head coach Jim Montgomery explained why he didn’t let Pastrnak play with a simple and short comment.
”Coach’s decision in the third period,” Montgomery said. ”That’s all I’m gonna comment on.”
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