Bruins players react to David Pastrnak being benched

BOSTON – While the Bruins may have put their recent struggles behind them with back-to-back wins this weekend, David Pastrnak The game didn’t improve with the rest of Boston’s players.

Jim Montgomery left his All-Star forward in the third period of the season. Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Kraken at TD Garden.

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Montgomery said it was the coach’s decision and declined to comment further. Over the first two periods, Pastrnak played 14 shifts in 14:21. He took seven shots and turned the puck over twice, including a bad one late in the second period.

Pastrnak has six goals and five assists this season, but is -4 and hasn’t scored a goal in four games.

Charlie Coyle said he doesn’t know what led to Pastrnak sitting down, but he liked how his teammate handled it.

“Pasta was not silent. He was talking. He carried energy. He was into it,” Coyle said. “That’s the sign of a good teammate. That’s why he carries the letter. He is one of our leaders. There’s a lot to be said about that.”

Montgomery has been tougher on his struggling team this season. The coach drew further attention for shouting at struggling captain Brad Marchand on the bench before Marchand dismissed the exchange as frivolous.

Coyle believed it was important that veteran players be held to a high standard.

“We all play on the same team. There is no special relationship to anyone. I think that’s the way it should be, and I think we all take responsibility,” Coyle said. “Ask any of us who have been in this position. If we got a reprimand or something like that, there’s probably a good reason for it. We are all competitive, we all want to play. So we will all be responsible in our own way. Monty holds us accountable and that will only make us better as a team. I don’t think the guys could really change that.”

Charlie McAvoy, who like Pastrnak wears the “A” as an alternate captain, agreed.

“It’s very important because he’s obviously one of the biggest and most important players on our team,” he said. “He’s very important to this group. The only thing that matters is that we get two points and he handles it with a smile on his face. And I know how he prepares and the success he wants to achieve and how competitive he is.”

McAvoy was asked about Montgomery placing responsibility on star players. He referred Marchand reaction as an example of how to deal with this.

“One of the things we know here and can’t lose here is that the only thing we’re playing for here is the crest. “It really doesn’t matter,” the man praises. … Actually it’s not like that. The only thing that matters here is team success. … It doesn’t matter what the stat lines look like. It just matters if the Bruins get two points tonight. Brad understands this. He has sort of an old school mentality about accountability and players holding each other accountable.

“When Monty yelled at him on the bench, he was fine with it, and maybe that’s what people these days couldn’t believe,” McAvoy continued. “He really loves players holding each other accountable and coaches holding players accountable. This is the only way to foster a winning culture and achieve success. So it was nice to see that.”

McAvoy thought Pastrnak would respond Tuesday night in Toronto.

“Toronto, we can shift our focus,” he said. “The schedule is (busy). So there’s no time to wallow. I look forward to seeing him in Toronto. I think he’ll have a great game.”