The Boston Bruins remain winless without captain Brad Marchand on the lineup. After straight losses to the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators, star David Pastrnak issued a strong statement to his teammates as their NHL season is at stake with every defeat.
Boston’s rollercoaster season continues, as the team enters another downward spiral following Marchand‘s upper-body injury, which coach Joe Sacco revealed is week-to-week.
The 6-3 loss to the Preds was very disappointing for Pastrnak and the Bruins, as the visiting Nashville team won its first game on the road since January 24, when they defeated the San Jose Sharks. Losing to the Predators is a troubling sign for the Bruins, who have traded away Trent Frederic and will face crucial hours as the NHL trade deadline approaches.
Pastrnak didn’t sweep the defeat to the Predators under the rug; instead, he sent a strong message to the locker room, ordering them to step up their performance ahead of a critical game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Giving up the lead is tough, especially those goals we scored were tying goals,” David Pastrnak stated, per NHL.com. “In a tight game, we could have grabbed momentum after our goals, but unfortunately it went the other way. It’s not the first time it’s happened this season, so it’s definitely a momentum killer, and you can’t win hockey games like that.”
Stammer time
Predators forward Steven Stamkos snapped his 13-game point drought, leaving many fans in Music City scratching their heads. Against the Bruins, Stamkos found his scoring touch again, putting on a strong performance.
The former Tampa Bay Lightning star scored a goal and registered two assists against Boston. After the game, Stamkos voiced a clear message about his team’s outing.
“We knew that’s a desperate team battling for their playoff lives, so to have that type of effort was great,” Stamkos said. “We had a really good first period, and we didn’t get down after giving up some goals.“
Sacco’s postgame statement
Joe Sacco was tasked with the difficult job to right the ship in Boston after Jim Montgomery’s firing, but he hasn’t found much success as the Bruins seem to wander amidst a fierce naval battle in the Eastern Conference. After the loss to Nashville, Sacco voiced a clear message.
“We didn’t execute that well tonight,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said. “I mean, when you look at some of the plays that we made with the puck, like I said before, I just think that … areas we expect to be better in, we weren’t.”