By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Through three playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres, David Pastrnak has put up some points for the Boston Bruins. The dynamic winger has dished out four assists and potted a power goal so far in this series.
Pastrnak has been productive on the stat sheet. However, the Bruins will still need more out of the forward for Boston to get past Buffalo.
In game three, Pastrnak was nowhere near his best. Playing in front of a juiced-up TD Garden crowd, he was off his game the entire night.
The normally sure-handed Pastrnak seemed to be fighting the puck throughout the contest. There were multiple occurrences, most notably on the power play, that he either misplayed the puck or failed to settle it down to develop a clean chance or nifty feed.
With less than ten minutes left in the game, with Boston down a goal, the Bruins were given two chances on the power play to take the lead. But Pastrnak and the rest of the Bruins failed to get the puck past Alex Lyon, and Buffalo grabbed the game three win by a 3-1 score to go up 2-1 in the series.
Pastrnak was on the ice for all three Sabres scores and did not factor in a Boston goal in a game for the first time in the series. It was a disappointing night for the Bruins’ most dangerous offensive weapon.
“So, definitely, on the offensive end, I think we can do a much better job,” Pastrnak told the media following Boston’s game three loss. “Make it harder for the goalie and getting more pucks to the net with the people around there.”
Pastrnak and the Bruins top offensive players are certainly capable of bouncing back with a better effort in game four. But it is not enough for Boston’s top winger to simply be good against the Sabres for the Bruins to advance. He needs to be excellent.
Coming into this series against a high-flying, skilled, and deep Buffalo team that has been one of the best teams in the NHL for months, Boston was going to need Pastrnak to be at his very best. As is often the case in these tight, competitive playoff series, the winning team is led by one player who overwhelms the opponent with their skill set. The Bruins are dealing with that dynamic themselves, as Tage Thompson has been as advertised in his first playoff series.
Pastrnak is more than capable of taking over this series. He has the offensive repertoire to do so. But that is the level he must reach as this series goes on.
As the best player on the team, Pastrnak receives a ton of accolades and deserves praise as one of the most explosive and crafty offensive talents in the league. But the onus is on him to consistently drive Boston’s attack. He has been that player before in the playoffs, and the Bruins need him to reach that level again in this series.
For game four of this series, Boston will host Buffalo this afternoon. If you want to see the Black and Gold in person at TD Garden or on the road during the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, consider using this official StubHub Ticket-affiliated link here for the most competitive concert and sporting event tickets in the North American region.
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