Pastrnak's game has actually gotten better in the playoffs

David Pastrnak is not in a playoff slump.

After the franchise's first 60-goal campaign (61) since the great Phil Esposito averaged 65 goals over his final five full seasons as a Bruin from 1970-75, Pastrnak has managed but two in the playoffs.

Two goals in four games is a good series for most players, but Pastrnak's postseason will have to be predicated more on creating than finishing.

Sixty-one goals will leverage any wise coach into choosing between Pastrnak and the other four skaters on the ice. Paul Maurice has obviously instructed his players to not let this guy, of all guys, beat them. Make it be somebody else.

The Bruins have found the offer acceptable and, thanks to their roster depth, take a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 of the teams' best-of-seven series at 7 p.m. Wednesday at TD Garden (NESN, TNT, 98.5 FM).

Being singled out for cancelation is a tough road to hoe for a generational talent like Pasta, who had gone through most of the past six months inventing new ways to put the biscuit in the basket just because he can. Now it seems as though it will take one of those new ways just for him to score.

Even in this modern age of 24-7-365 professionalism, playoff hockey annually reminds us that it is a whole different animal, capable of freezing out red-hot sticks, discouraging the most positive of thinkers and testing the mettle of hockey's toughest competitors.

So, if there is a way to isolate the greatness of the 2022-23 Boston Bruins, it is in this example of a fully engaged Pastrnak playing for his teammates. Perhaps momentarily frustrated when shot attempts that for six months switched on red lights are not getting through, he remains undeterred in his pursuit of the bigger prize. Exhibit A: not a single giveaway in Sunday's, 6-2, Game 4 triumph at FLA Live Arena.

“I mean, (coach) Jimmy (Montgomery) labeled it pretty accurately, we just had catastrophic turnover rates (in Game 3) that were far exceeding what we would normally do," said Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney on Monday. "Give Florida a heck of a lot of credit (Sunday), they played outstanding in the first period and put a lot of pressure on us. We did a better job of limiting those situations and, obviously, Linus made some really big saves for us.”

Like Brad Marchand, Pastrnak is a player who pushes the envelope and sometimes gives the opponent a better scoring chance than the one he was trying too hard to create for his own team. After escaping with a 4-2 win in Game 3, both playmakers significantly cleaned up their neutral-zone act.

In other corners of the rink: Matthew Tkachuk's unsuccessful attempt to rough up Linus Ullmark and successful attempt to slam the shaft of his hockey stick into Garnet Hathaway's unprotected ribs go a long way toward explaining where the Bruins and Panthers stand.

Tkachuk was fined the maximum $5,000 by the National Hockey League on Monday. Hardly a slap on the young millionaire's wrists, but unmistakably symbolic as to the power forward's frustration. Marchand and the rest of the Bruins have been masterful in managing Florida's roughhouse game.

"We’ve been talking about this internally, that we think Brad has done a really good job of taking a leadership role and is an important player for our club on the ice ...," said Sweeney. "I think he’s assumed a lot of those responsibilities and has done a heck of a job, and he has a lot of support in behind it with Nick (Foligno) and even Orly (Dmitry Orlov) who has won the Stanley Cup."

An essential piece to not letting the Panthers' knuckle sandwiches sour their taste is the Bruins, especially Charlie McAvoy, are also dishing it out.

Nonetheless, it still seems surreal that the Bruins could be four games into a very difficult playoff series against the NHL's hottest team down the stretch run and, minus the services of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, be one win away from advancing.

Granted, the Bruins are far better fortified in 2023 to handle such a double whammy than they would have been in prior seasons when the loss of either centerman would have been a crippling blow. Playing up in the lineup, Charlie Coyle has defiantly shrugged off his red-clad distractors. Pavel Zacha is also thriving in a larger role down the middle.

Taylor Hall, his role carved out not according to his pedigree but according to how he best complements the collective, is suddenly among the top five in NHL playoff scoring. After four games, Tyler Bertuzzi (2-4-6) was a top-10 playoff point getter.

The list could go on, and it invariably becomes a room full of indispensibles when the players rise with the stakes.

Mick Colageo writes about hockey for The Standard-Times. Follow on Twitter @MickColageo.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Boston Bruins ready for Game 5 against the Florida Panthers