Jim Montgomery Calls Out David Pastrnak After Bruins' Game 6 Loss

The great thing about a seven-game series is the way the momentum can shift one way or another on a dime, and that's precisely what has happened between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Now B's head coach Jim Montgomery is letting one of his top dogs — David Pastrnak — know that he needs to step it up and play like a top dog.

It's wild because just hours before Game 6 I was writing about how the Leafs had their back against the wall and needed to bust a 6-game postseason losing streak at home and do it without Auston Matthews who scored 69 (nice) times during the regular season.

Game 6 also came after a dud of a performance from the Bruins that they still only lost in overtime.

I thought for sure, the Bruins would come out flying … and I couldn't have been more wrong.

Boston registered one shot in the opening frame, and we were almost halfway through regulation before they took another shot on net. Now, the shots evened up as the Bruins threw a flurry of picks on net through the second half of the game and the Maple Leafs tightened up to protect a lead thanks to a much-needed goal for William Nylander.

Still, the Big Bad Bruins didn't hit pay dirt until the 19:59 mark of the third period, and by that point, both teams had probably already chartered flights back to Boston for Game 7 on Saturday.

After the game, Montgomery was asked about the play of the two biggest names on his roster, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

"Your best players need to be your best players this time of year," Montgomery said. "I think the effort is tremendous and they need to come through with big-time plays in big-time moments. Marchand has done that in the series, Pasta needs to step up."

Bruins star David Pastrnak has been limited to 4 points through 6 games so far this postseason. (Photo by Michael Chisholm/NHLI via Getty Images)

Pastrnak Needs To Have A Bigger Presence If Bruins Want To Move On

That sounds to me like a coach who knows what he's doing. Trying to light a fire under a guy who, when he gets going, is the most lethal goal-scorer in the Bruins payroll.

Marchand has 8 points in this series and has been up to his usual playoff tricks and getting under players' skins, mostly his former teammate, Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi. The man they called the Rat registered 2 shots on goal in Game 6 and took a penalty but otherwise seemed a little invisible, at least in comparison to the first few games of the season where he practically took over.

Meanwhile, Pastrnak has 4 points (2G, 2A) but they need more from him for sure, and he'll need to use his coach's words to fire him up if the Bruins don't want to become the first team in the NHL, NBA, or MLB to blow 3-1 series leads in back to back seasons.