David Pastrnak, Jim Montogomery don’t mince their words on Boston Bruins’ special teams blunder. (Image Source: Imagn)
David Pastrnak and coach Jim Montgomery were straightforward in their assessment after the Bruins’ 4-0 loss to the Leafs on Tuesday, highlighting the issues with the special teams in the game.
Despite having two more shots on goal than the Leafs, who had 27, the Bruins struggled to generate offense, a recurring theme for them this season. The Bruins went 0-6 on the powerplay, while the Leafs capitalized, scoring three goals on seven powerplay chances.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 6, 2024
Montgomery acknowledged that there were penalties that could have been avoided. However, he emphasized that their powerplay didn’t perform as effectively as Toronto’s, which eventually hurt their chances.
“There’s maybe a couple of penalties that I think we could have avoided tonight. But in general, I thought we drew a lot of penalties by playing the right way, five on five. You know, just our power play didn’t, you know, have the success that theirs did.”
He acknowledged the need to improve their penalty 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁:
“Our penalty 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 something that I take a lot of pride in, this group takes a lot of pride in, and it needs to get better. honestly, like, was that float today? But, you know, I feel like we’ve been, we’ve been right there for the most part of the game.
“You know, and how the special teams obviously hurt us today. And, you know, we didn’t do the job on the power play, and they did when it comes to the entries on the power play,” he added.
David Pastrnak also pointed out that they didn’t execute well on special teams, which was a key factor in the loss.
“We end up taking penalty and make it four and four, you know. So didn’t create the momentum, how I said special things. We didn’t do the job today,” David Pastrnak said.
Jim Montgomery, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak spoke with the media following the #NHLBruins loss to the Maple Leafs. pic.twitter.com/keBymIxQjd
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 6, 2024
With the defeat, the Bruins have permitted three powerplay goals in a game four times this season. As the team reflects on the loss, addressing the special team’s blunders will be crucial.
David Pastrnak and Bruins shut out by Maple Leafs’ special teams
The Maple Leafs (7-5-2) used their special teams to secure a 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins (6-7-1) at the Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. The loss marked the Bruins’ third shutout defeat of the season.
Despite missing their captain Auston Matthews due to an upper body injury, the Leafs saw strong performances from Morgan Rielly, who picked up three points. Matthew Knies, Mitch Marner and William Nylander contributed two points apiece.
Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves for the Leafs. Next up, David Pastrnak and the Bruins face the Detroit Red Wings (5-5-1) on Friday.