Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak drew concern after exiting late in the second of Boston’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he managed to return.
Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak drew concern after exiting late in the second of Boston’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he managed to return.
BOSTON – The Boston Bruins were in a good spot. James van Riemsdyk had just tied the game 2-2 at 16:23 of the second period, poking in the rebound on Brad Marchand’s shot from the right side, and the Bruins were in position to fight for the lead.
25 minutes and a shootout later, and Tampa Bay walked away with the victory, but for a moment it looked as if the Bruins might have suffered an even bigger loss.
David Pastrnak, who had the secondary assist on both Bruins goals and leads the team in scoring (77 points in 53 games), exited late in the second period just a few minutes after James van Riemsdyk’s equalizer following a collision with Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman against the boards.
There was concern throughout the second intermission about how serious the case could be. Pastrnak stands 27 points clear of Boston’s next-highest scorer, Brad Marchand – who also had two assists on the night in his 1,000th NHL game – and losing a player of his caliber would wreck the Bruins’ offensive ceiling.
However, before speculation could get out of hand, the 27-year-old Czech forward returned for the third period, and shot down any questions about his status going forward.
“This is hockey,” Pastrnak said. “I mean, this happens. … I came back, so I was good.”
Pastrnak and the Bruins will return to action when they host the Seattle Kraken for the fifth game of their seven-game homestand on Thursday.
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