After Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery challenged David Pastrnak to step up in the aftermath of a Game 6 defeat, the star forward did so at the perfect time on Saturday.
Pastrnak beat Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly to a rebound off the end boards following a long shot from Hampus Lindholm and then put the puck past goalie Ilya Samsonov to give the Bruins a 2-1 overtime win in Game 7.
"With Jimmy, he said the stuff he did after Game 6. I told him if I were the coach and you were me, I would say the same thing," Pastrnak said after Game 7. "I had no problem with him saying that. He's trying to bring the best out of every single player. He expects more and I just took it as a man and tried to be better. I admit it, I need to be better. I still have ways to be better."
Boston will now play the Florida Panthers in the second round.
After finishing fifth in regular-season scoring with 110 points, Pastrnak had just two goals and two assists in the first six playoff games before notching the winner at 1:54 of overtime.
Pastrnak's performance in the first six games didn't please Montgomery.
"Your best players need to be your best players this time of year," the coach said. "I think the effort is tremendous. They need to come through with some big-time plays and some big-time moments. (Brad) Marchand has done that in the series. Pasta needs to step up."
He did just that.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.