Pastrnak Powers B's to Improbable Comeback

RALEIGH- Down their leading scorer on defense. Down their most valuable shutdown defenseman. Down their speedy second-line left winger. Down three goals with under 10 minutes to play.
The Bruins were down quite a lot at the halfway point of the third period on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Down 4-1," said Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk," Probably a ton of teams would not have the resolve to come back."

The Bruins proved on Tuesday night that they are not most teams.
After an abysmal second period by their own standards, the B's had little reason to be hopeful entering the third.
"It was our worst period of the year I think," said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. "They were much better than us. They won all the puck battles. They were harder on it, got to the net. We just were not very good for whatever reason."
Five unanswered goals later, the Bruins were proud owners of a 6-4 victory. A win that marked the most improbable comeback in a season full of them.

"Kind of laughing to yourself," said goaltender Tuukka Rask on his reaction to the stunning turnaround. "How can you go from not executing one play and being all over the place and not playing the system to executing every play and playing in the system in one second? Can't really explain that."
"The whole night we don't have the legs," said the first star of the night, David Pastrnak. "[We] looked kind of tired and no energy, and then we get a couple goals and all of a sudden everybody is flying. Everything clicks for us. I guess we all wished we knew how to turn it to click. I said I think a big part is we are a good team and we have a lot of good players."
Grzelcyk started the comeback when he sniped a shot over the left shoulder of Cam Ward to cut the lead to 4-2 with 9:50 to go in the game.

"Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] to me, got the big goal," said Cassidy. "Got us going. They won the puck, that line, and finally got it behind them and nice play, nice shot, it gave us some life."
That renewed energy was also bolstered by the Bruins leading scorer, Brad Marchand. Known for his offensive exploits on the ice, it was something that Marchand did off it that sparked the comeback.
Cassidy noted that following Grzelcyk's goal, Marchand delivered a simple but critical message to his teammates on the bench.
"Marchy [Brad Marchand} said," recounted Cassidy. "Listen, there is a lot of time. We're not out of it."
Marchand noted that his leadership is something he's gained from being around others.
"I've learned from great guys through the years," said Marchand. "Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] is such a big voice. When he's out of the lineup, everyone has to talk a little bit more. It's a role that I enjoy being in and I've wanted to be in more over the years. We have to do things like that."
Marchand's teammates have taken notice, and the results speak for themselves.
"Obviously if it comes from him," said Grzelcyk. "it's going to give you a ton of motivation. A guy that's one of the best players in the league."

Marchand credited the team's resilience for spurring the unlikely comeback.
"With this team… we are never out of a game," said Marchand. "The character in the room, it's come through all year long. It just kind of feels on the bench, when we get a goal, we just kind of start to take over."
Take over is exactly what the Bruins did.
Fifty-seconds after the Grzelcyk goal, David Pastrnak scored his first goal of the game, a pinpoint shot to the top right corner to make it 4-3.

Twenty-one seconds after Pastrnak's first strike, David Krejci feathered a pass to Danton Heinen on a 2-on-1, who calmly fired It past a helpless Ward.

In total, the B's scored three goals in 1:17 to tie the game. But the Bruins - and especially David Pastrnak - were far from finished.

Pastrnak Takes Over

When the Hurricanes scored a shorthanded goal in the first minute of the third period, much of the blame was placed squarely on Pastrnak's shoulders. Pastrnak tried to dance down the half-wall, only to turn the puck over. The ensuing breakaway would eventually result in the Hurricanes fourth goal of the game.
"It was definitely not a good start in the period," said Pastrnak. "That was tough."
Instead of dwelling on his mistake, the 21-year old used it as motivation. Of the Bruins five unanswered third period goals, Pastrnak potted three of them.
"That's a sign of maturity that he cares," said Cassidy. "He figures he let the team down. He has to go now do something to pick them up again and he certainly did that. Good for him. We need it. Let's face it, your top guys have to be your top guys."
With 4:08 left in the game, Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk gifted the Bruins a powerplay when he launched a puck over the glass in the defensive zone and was assessed a delay of game penalty. It was again time for David Pastrnak to be one of the top guys.
Pastrnak calmly received a pass in the left circle from Grzelcyk and blasted one in for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Pastrnak would also add the empty-netter to record his first career hat trick.
"That kid," said Marchand. "when he turns it on, he's special, the way he did tonight. He just took over in the third."

Dazzling Depth

As the trade deadline passed, the Bruins looked set on the back-end. With eight capable NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster, and Paul Postma with NHL experience playing in Providence, it appeared they would be prepared to combat any injuries that came their way.
Just a few weeks later, the B's found themselves with only four healthy defenseman in uniform late in the game against the Hurricanes.
Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara both left Tuesday's contest with injuries, leaving Bruce Cassidy with only four players to utilize on the back-end.
"Two D every second shift are going out together," Cassidy cracked when asked about his strategy with the short bench. ""…It's guys like Holden and Grizz, they want to play a little more. A little more opportunity. I think this team, when guys go down, other guys want to step up."
In addition to Krug and Chara, the B's also lost Jake DeBrusk to injury. Cassidy continued to emphasize other players stepping up.
"All of a sudden now," said Cassidy. "[Brian] Gionta gets a few more minutes. Holden - these guys have played in the league. Wingels the other night, he's in there. This is where depth comes in.
"A guy like Grizz gets a few more opportunities offensively and he's got it in. Danton Heinen gets a chance to go up with Krech [David Krejci] and he gets to the net hard and scores. It's one thing to want to be able to do it, it's another thing to have the ability. I think that's what separates us right now."

Comeback Kings

Thrilling late game heroics have become common place for the Bruins of late, with a bevy of comeback or overtime victories.
Tuesday night's hero, David Pastrnak, commented on the team's ability to conjure up late-game victories.
"In this league, it's not over until the last minute and the last whistle," said Pastrnak. "Sometimes you just hear that and hear that, but this year we did it many times. Obviously for some reason, we put ourselves in that position. We don't want to, but it had a happy ending for us. We definitely will get better."
Goaltender Tuukka Rask may not be involved in scoring the goals during comebacks, but he has played a vital role in keeping games close as the pressure mounts.
"I think we are showing we're a pretty resilient group over the course of the year," said Rask. "Definitely didn't make it easy on us…We've come back in tough deficits and showed it again tonight.
"It's just a matter of us playing the right way and having that killer instinct out there. That's all that was needed today. It didn't look like it in the second period but got the W after all."
Marchand Matches Murray: When Marchand opened the scoring with his 30th of the season, he became the first Bruin to reach the 30-goal mark in three consecutive seasons since Glenn Murray did it from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

Both Murray and Marchand both hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Marchand noted his respect for the former Bruin.
"He was always a local hero growing up," said Marchand. "Very excited when I finally got to meet him when I was drafted and in the room. More just kind of watch him in admiration when he was here.
"I was a young guy, you don't really speak to the old guys. He was nice enough to come up and shake my hand and introduce himself knowing that I was from the area. It was great to meet him."
Pasta Passes Pederson: With his three-goal performance, Pastrnak improved his career goal total to 86. He passed Barry Pederson (85) for the most goals scored by a Bruin before the age of 22. Pastrnak will not turn 22 until the end of May.