The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center yesterday afternoon by the score of 3-1. Bruins 2014 first-round (24th overall) draft pick, David Pastrnak was the story of the game, and got the “first-star” honors with a two goal effort in the win. The last player in Bruins history to have a multi-goal game as an 18 year-old, was center Patrice Bergeron back in January of 2004.
Congratulations to David Pastrnak who scored his first NHL goal today against the Philadelphia Flyers!… http://t.co/zZKrgVE6OT
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 10, 2015
GOAL! David Pastrnak picks up goal No. 2 of the game off a give-and-go with David Krejci. 2-0 #NHLBruins — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 10, 2015
The 18 year-old Havirov, Czech Republic native signed a three-year entry-level contract back on July 15, 2014 shortly after he was drafted by the team. He has only appeared in seven National Hockey League games this season contributing three points in his rookie season. Prior to Pastrnak playing his tenth game of the season, some decisions will have to be made by the Bruins brass as to what the future holds this year.
The Washington Post, and NHL Capitals insider Neil Greenberg has a better explanation on why teams are very cautious on making these critical decisions during a young players development, and says “An NHL team gets just 10 games before it must make a decision on players in the lineup who still have eligibility. If a player suits up for 10 or more games, one year of his three-year entry-level contract is burned. If he plays in 40 or more contests, the season accrues and gets him to unrestricted free agency that much sooner. There is a lot at stake in these 10 games, especially in the salary cap era when cheap production reigns supreme.”
The Bruins are sitting in the second “wild-card” position in the Eastern Conference with a 22-15-6 record entering the second half of the 2014-15 season, and have struggled offensively as a team to secure valuable points thus far like they have in years past. Earlier this week new Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs had some harsh words on the teams efforts so far saying“For us to be a team that’s out of the playoffs is absolutely unacceptable,” Jacobs said. “Everybody in the executive offices is fully aware of how I feel.” Also saying“They feel the same way, which brings us to this evaluation process. It’s fluid right now. I can’t say that any moment we have a final decision, other than to say it’s been an utter disappointment and a failure. A complete failure.”
After Mr. Jacobs had this to say about his team, they seemed to regroup, and are currently on a three-game winning streak scoring nine goals in those games. General Manager Peter Chiarelli has been heavily tied to trade rumors to acquire a right winger to replace what they had lost in 30 goal scorer Jarome Iginla last season, due to free-agency. Is Chiarelli prepared to roll the dice with Pastrnak as the “hidden gem” that he has been looking to acquire for the better part of this season, and risk an important year of much needed development? That question could very well be answered as the team continues to evaluate him, but the two games are against some pretty tough opponents with home games against the 27-12-4 Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night, and the 23-11-4 New York Rangers on Thursday night next week.
http://youtu.be/7NyYJcGZ3Fg
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