BEDFORD — When someone like David Pastrnak — who’s not known for being a fighter — drops the gloves in a playoff game, it helps fire up the team. Even though the Bruins were down by five goals to the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Pastrnak and Matthew Tkuchuk exchanged pleasantries.
“If I had to choose one word: Inspiring,” coach Jim Montgomery said Thursday when asked the locker room’s reaction to Pastrnak’s bout with Tkachuk.
Pastrnak received heaps of praise after Boston’s ultimate Game 2 loss from his coach, teammates and even Tkachuk — who said it was him who challenged Pastrnak.
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“Give him tons and tons of respect,” he told reporters Thursday. “Two guys that aren’t known for fighting, me and him, and two players that are probably known more for their offensive side of the game. Tons of respect for him.”
Pastrnak and Montgomery were seen on the bench before the two stars tussled. The coach said Pastrnak didn’t ask permission to go out and fight, but that he was still “proud” of his player.
“There’s so many guys out there pushing after the whistle and the linesmen are there,” Montgomery said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss. “Pasta and Tkachuk — they just went out there and fought. That’s what you like. You like your hockey players to be competitors.”
While the outcome of Game 2 didn’t go in the Bruins’ favor, it was a moment that lit a spark under the Bruins and got them ready for the next game.
“That gets you fired up,” James van Riemsdyk said Thursday. “You see how much he cares and he wants to do whatever it takes to win. And it gets the guys really, really fired up. Obviously, we don’t want to see him doing that too often, but certainly show hat emotion like that — it shows he cares. And that’s why he’s such a big part of the team and why he’s such a good player.”
The Bruins now look to bounce back, carry that spark from Pastrnak’s fight and regain the series lead with Game 3 in Boston on Friday night.
