Bruins' Montgomery benches Pastrnak for entire third period

Boston Bruins star forward David Pastrnak sat on the bench for the entire third period of Sunday's game.

He appeared capable of playing, but head coach Jim Montgomery chose to keep him off the ice.

Following the Bruins' 2-0 win over the Kraken, Montgomery told the media that Pastrnak remained on the bench for the final 20 minutes due to "a coach's decision" and wouldn't comment on the situation beyond that.

Over the previous 40 minutes of play, Patsrnak accumulated 14:21 of ice time across 14 shifts. He finished the night having recorded seven shots, one block, two giveaways and one takeaway.

The 28-year-old had a prime scoring opportunity in the first period with Joey Daccord sprawled on the ice, yet he shot the puck directly at the Kraken goaltender despite the open net.

So, perhaps Montgomery was unhappy with the performance he witnessed Sunday? It wouldn't be the first time the coach tried to send a message to his player.

During the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, Montgomery called out Pastrnak after his team's Game 6 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Your best players need to be your best players this time of year," Montgomery told reporters at the time. “The effort is tremendous. They need to come through with some big-time plays in some big-time moments. (Brad) Marchand has done that in the series. Pasta needs to step up."

He added, "(Pastrnak) needs to be the dominant player that we’re used to. He’s doing it in flurries. He’s not doing it as consistently as he did during the regular season.”

The Czech has 11 points (six goals and five assists) in 13 games to start the season, but he has a plus/minus of minus-four and is carrying a slightly lower shooting percentage than usual. He has now gone four straight games without scoring a goal.

Meanwhile, the Bruins are off to a slower start than expected, currently holding a 6-6-1 record.