Pastrnak takes responsibility for benching in Bruins win against Kraken

BRIGHTON, Mass. -- David Pastrnak isn’t pointing fingers after being benched for the third period of the Boston Bruins’ 2-0 win against the Seattle Kraken at TD Garden on Sunday.

The Bruins star forward did not take a shift after committing a turnover late in the second period. Boston coach Jim Montgomery called it “a coach’s decision” after the game but did not elaborate further.

“Honestly, I’ve just got to be better,” Pastrnak said after practice Monday. “You know, [I] take responsibility of being better, but at the same time, I’m just moving forward. Today [I’m] focusing on another game tomorrow, and yesterday was yesterday. I never look back.”

Pastrnak’s final shift Sunday came in the last minute of the second with Boston on the power play. He turned the puck over in the neutral zone to Kraken forward Yanni Gourde, who managed to put three shots on goal off a 2-on-1 rush.

Pastrnak leads the Bruins with six goals and 11 points through 13 games and had at least 110 points in each of the previous two seasons.

“That was a bad turnover, so how I said, I take responsibility for it,” Pastrnak said. “Accountability, I guess, is a better word. I just want to move forward. I don’t want to be any distraction to our team.

“The guys know how I feel about them in here, and it was a bad play. So I take accountability, but already moving forward.”

Pastrnak remained vocal on the bench for the remainder of the game. The Bruins got their second straight shutout win following a 3-0 victory at the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Sunday was not the first time Montgomery held his leaders in check; Bruins captain Brad Marchand committed a turnover that led to a Utah Hockey Club goal, which happened to be overturned, in Boston’s 2-1 overtime loss Oct. 19. After the play, Montgomery was spotted yelling at Marchand on the bench.

“It’s unfortunate how coaches are scrutinized over things like that,” Marchand said Oct. 24. “There’s a lack of accountability nowadays because people can’t handle the heat. You make a mistake like that, you deserve to hear about it.”

Montgomery said Monday he was impressed by Pastrnak’s response to the benching.

“I’ve said this since the beginning, I’ve said it numerous times, I’m really lucky to work with the leaders I get to work with,” Montgomery said. “I’m very fortunate. In other places, you see coaches that, you know, it’s a big problem, [but] I’m lucky with the accountability that exists in this culture and the leaders that I get to deal with because that allows me to hold everybody accountable.”

The Bruins (6-6-1) will go for their third straight win when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NESN).

“It was a big weekend for our group, but we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Pastrnak said. “We know we can even be better as a group, and that’s our goal, to elevate our team game every game."