Pastrnak, Krejci Pace Bruins in Season-Opening Win

WASHINGTON - David Pastrnak sees room for improvement.
And for the rest of the NHL, that should be a scary thought.
On a night when he reunited with his fellow Czech native - and mentor - David Krejci, the 26-year-old posted four points (goal, three assists) to pace the Bruins to a 5-2, season-opening victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.

"I'm feeling old but I'm still pretty young," Pastrnak said with a smirk when asked if his game is still building at this stage of his career. "I definitely think I can get better. I'm trying to do that every day."
Pastrnak also believes that Krejci has his own progression to continue, despite an impressive three-point showing in his return to the NHL after a year-and-a-half absence.
"It's gonna be different for him. If he doesn't admit it, it's obviously different coming from big ice to small," Pastrnak said of Krejci's transition back to the Bruins from a season away playing in his native Czechia. "I think he's only gonna get better. He already looked pretty good to me."
He did, indeed.
Krejci - and Pastrnak - assisted on Patrice Bergeron's season-opening, power-play goal at 7:58 of the first period and never slowed down. The 36-year-old then picked up the primary helper when Pastrnak doubled the Bruins' lead at 4:57 of the opening frame when he spun and fired from the high slot to beat Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper five-hole.
And when things got tough in the second period as Washington scored twice within a five-minute span to pull within 3-2 - both coming with the Krejci line on the ice - it was the Czech triumvirate (Pavel Zacha, who had an assist and three shots on goal, rounded out the line) that provided the final blow the Bruins needed.
With 3:43 remaining in the third, Pastrnak broke in all alone on Kuemper, who turned away the winger's attempt - but Krejci was there to pounce on the loose puck and put home the rebound to give Boston a 4-2 advantage.
"It's great we got a win and as a line we chipped in but at the same time, second period wasn't the strongest for our line," said Krejci. "But we talked about it and we came out strong in the third. You're gonna make mistakes. This is a good league. You make a mistake and you're gonna pay for it. We did that in the second.
"I feel like in this league, it's always about a response. Us as a line and us as a team, we did that really well in the third period and finished the game against a really good team."
And while Krejci was certainly happy with his performance in his first game with the Bruins since May 2021, he was far more pleased with the Black & Gold picking up two points to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
"It was great. Just being around the guys, playing in an NHL rink against the best players in the world, it tests your game a little bit, "said Krejci. "I was excited, a little nervous at the same time. Glad we got it done. Back home with two points which is huge…the win was really important to me, more than anything. I'm glad we got it done."

A D.C. Debut

Jakub Lauko had no time to worry.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery tabbed his fourth line of Lauko, Nick Foligno, and Tomas Nosek for the start in Wednesday's season opener, leaving the 22-year-old little time to think - which turned out to be for the best.
"When Monty said I was gonna go, I was like, 'OK this is gonna be interesting," Lauko, who finished with three hits in 11:36 of ice time, said with a smile. "But I was actually happy because I didn't have any time to be nervous, just jumped right into it and didn't have to wait two, three, four minutes on the bench and waiting, shaking…is this the moment, is this it? Just jumped right into it. I think we had a pretty nice shift to start."
Lauko and his linemates set the tone off the opening draw and continued the momentum into the third period when the Czech native drew two penalties. His speed and tenacity, the exact attributes that impressed Montgomery during camp, paid off.
"That's why we want him in the lineup, his ability to draw penalties with his speed, take pucks to hard areas," said Montgomery. "I thought that fourth line got us going right away on that first shift of the game. They went right to the goal line and got to work."
Lauko's parents flew in from Czechia for their son's debut, making it to Capital One Arena just minutes before puck drop after immigration issues kept them at the airport for several hours.
"It was a rush. I'm really, really happy [they made it]," said Lauko, who was able to spend a few minutes with his family after the win. "I feel like if I'm gonna build on this game, it's gonna be better and better. For me, I trust my abilities and my upside. I just need to adjust for the pace of the game for the guys that are playing.
"Last two years, I haven't PK'd much and now I'm PKing against [Alex Ovechkin] or [Evgeni] Kuznetsov so it's a big step up. I think I was pretty decent."

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