Pastrnak, JVR Lift Bruins Past Predators

BOSTON – David Pastrnak is always looking for fresh ways to fool a goalie.

Sometimes, he even tries out another sport to see what he might be able to come up with.

“This is a funny story. I don’t know if you know the sport floor ball. Floor ball is a big sport in Europe. I promised my buddy that I will go practice with them. I went and, honestly, I was terrible. They all shoot like that,” Pastrnak said as he described the way floor ball players delay and deceive as they shoot.

“I tried to do that there and I was really bad at it, so I tried it on the ice and was much better with it on the ice than I was at floor ball practice.”

He was, indeed.

After a failed attempt during the preseason, Pastrnak went back to the “floor ball technique” on Saturday night when he was awarded a penalty shot in the second period of Boston’s eventual 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators at TD Garden.

The winger weaved in and out through the slot before executing an ever so slight delay in his takeaway, which went behind his right hip, and ripping a wicked wrister over the glove of Predators goalie Juuse Saros to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 5:14 left in the middle frame.

“Tried it in preseason, actually, hit the logo in the middle of the goalie. Didn’t have much confidence today going into it but it worked out,” said Pastrnak, who now has three goals in two games to start the season.

“It’s different than having a breakaway in a game. You don’t have time to think, you just do the first thing that comes in your mind. But for a penalty shot, you kind of have about four or five moves coming into your head. You just pick one and hope it’s the right one.”

Two for JVR

Now 15 years into his NHL career, James van Riemsdyk has made many a trip to TD Garden. But for the first 14 seasons, the New Jersey native was doing so as a member of the enemy Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Obviously, with all the years I’ve played this is one of the best places in the league to play and it’s a great atmosphere every night. It’s fun to be on the good side of that instead of getting booed.”

There was certainly no reason to boo on Saturday night as the 34-year-old potted his first two goals with the Bruins, both of which came via the power play.

“Obviously that’s a big part of my role and my job here is to be effective there,” said van Riemsdyk, who was inked to a one-year deal on the opening day of free agency back in July. “There’s some great players that I'm on the ice with there so that makes it a lot of fun. Those guys obviously make a ton of great plays and it’s my job to be around the net and capitalize when it's my time to do that. It’s great to be out there with guys that can snap the puck around like those guys.”

van Riemsdyk’s first goal came with 5:12 left in the first when he tied the game, 1-1, after he banked the puck off Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro from the side of the net. He followed up with his second of the night just 2:52 into the third when he tipped home a Charlie McAvoy point shot to put the Bruins ahead, 3-2.

“I’ve got to get it there for him,” said McAvoy. “He’s made a career in this league out of getting there, and he’s shown in practice that he can do it and get a stick on it. So, I’ve got to keep working on my chemistry with him, but I’m really happy to see him tip one. It was a big goal for us tonight.”

van Riemsdyk has long been known for his net-front prowess on the power play, which was on full display Saturday night s both goals came from just outside the crease.

“He’s known for outstanding net front,” said Pastrnak. “His whole career, he’s scored a lot of goals on the PP. I remember him from Philly around the net. He’s great here, he makes really good plays in tight for how big he is and big a stick he is…happy he got on the board and, overall, the power play got on the board.”

Overall, Coach Jim Montgomery was pleased with the “shot-first attitude” the Bruins displayed on the man advantage.

“We had real good presence at the net front, and I also thought the puck movement was really good,” he said. “[JVR], he allows you to make a lot more plays low just because of his ability to tip pucks…and that second goal was incredible. But the plays that we go down low, he has the poise, he makes really good decisions…and they have to be split second decisions.”

A Special Showing

In addition to their strong 2 for 5 showing on the power play, the Bruins also went a perfect 7 for 7 on the penalty kill, including an abbreviated 5-on-3 early in the first period.

“Outstanding job by penalty killers. That was so fun to watch,” said Pastrnak. “It’s crazy how much energy it creates for players that don’t kill on the bench. A lot of penalty kills, and our guys did a hell of a job. It was a special teams game today. Seemed like it was a lot of power plays, penalty kills. We found a way to win it. Heck of a win, we’re gonna sit on this for a couple days, so good win.”

With so many penalties against, especially, earlier in the game, McAvoy acknowledged that it was a bit of a grind mentally for the Bruins on Saturday night, especially for those like Pastrnak that are not part of any of the penalty killing units.

“It was a lot of selflessness,” said McAvoy. “After 40 [minutes], we came in here, and I think we were just trying to reset emotionally. When you’re killing as much as we did, and it’s penalty after penalty, and then 5-on-3 and then they get one on a delayed [penalty], it was frustrating for sure.

“First star goes to the penalty kill tonight. It was so many blocked shots and 200-foot clears and even some offensive chances and opportunities that came from it. It was great penalty killing.”

McAvoy singled out blue liners Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort, in particular, for their efforts on the penalty kill. Carlo played 7:21 shorthanded, while Forbort clocked 6:10.

“Just by watching, you can see we have an aggressive penalty kill, so we want to try and catch you, we want to try and go and attack when we can,” said McAvoy. “Obviously, that’s bobbled pucks, that’s good reads, so Brando might be as good as anybody at that because of his length, his stick positioning and his stride. He’s quick, so he can get there, and obviously his willingness to block shots. He does it every night.

“I think him and Forby are two outstanding penalty killers, and that’s kind of their niche, and they do an awesome job at it. They not only block shots – and did great tonight – but they saved multiple goals, things that slipped in behind.

“Within the PK getting the first star, you could argue that both of those guys were very deserving as well.”

Montgomery also praised the TD Garden crowd for the energy they brought as they recognized the strong work of the B’s penalty killers, while also feting Jeremy Swayman’s stellar performance between the pipes.

“We’re getting tremendous momentum,” Montgomery said of the kills. “And our fans are so knowledgeable that they're recognizing the great effort to block shots and great saves that are number one penalty killer Swayman was making… and just the sacrifice by the defensemen and the forwards working together. At the end of one of them there was a tremendous ovation, and you could tell it elevated our bench.”

During one of the B’s second-period kills, Swayman made a barrage of saves that also included Forbort swiping a puck off the goal line just in the nick of time.

“I love that guy. It’s always fun,” said Swayman. “Mid-game we’ll just be jawing it. It just goes to show his awareness as a D-man and a hockey player in general. All my guys did that tonight. Just blocking shots, having awareness in front of the net, boxing out guys, letting me see the first shot, second shot. It was a big defensive dominant win.”

Wait, There’s More

• Per NHL Stats, Pastrnak’s penalty shot goal was the second of his career, making him the fourth player in Bruins history with more than one along with Brad Marchand (6), Woody Dumart (3), and Johnny Bucyk (2).
• Swayman was, naturally, pleased with the 33-save effort in his season debut. “It’s good to win. It’s good to win,” he said. “Whether it’s the first game or last game or middle you treat every one of them like a playoff game. You learn something new every time, you gain that experience, and today was one of those wins that, again, we got faced with adversity with the penalties and you want to maintain one goal leads. That was something I know I will take personally and I’m sure this team will, too, moving forward.”
• Montgomery showed off an impressive knowledge of Red Sox history when talking about Pastrnak’s penalty shot goal. “I liked it, right in the top corner,” he said. “Disguised it, looked like Luis Tiant…right? On the mound? Brought it back behind.”
• Before the game, Pastrnak skated over to the glass by the tunnel and greeted his partner Rebecca and their baby daughter, Freya, who was born back in June. “That was very special,” he said. “It kind of warms your heart, you see them there and it gets you excited for the game. It was a very special moment. I’m knew to this glass thing around with your daughter. I have to work on it. I was a little shy, I didn’t know what to do. It was nice to see them. They stayed probably one period but happy that they came.”