Jim Montgomery Sees Pedro Dominance In Pastrnak

Boston Bruins head coach sees a lot of former Boston Red Sox and hall of fame pitcher Pedro Martinez in Bruins superstar winger David Pastrnak.

The Boston Bruins winger scored his 57th goal of the season to give the Bruins a 2-1 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. With four games to go in the 2022-23 regular season, David Pastrnak can become the first Bruins player to score 60 goals in a season since hall of famer Phil Esposito did it in the 1974-75 regular season.

“I think he moves subtly by a half a foot to feet that allows him to know where he can get a shot through,” the Boston Bruins bench boss told the media on Friday. “They had a couple blocked on him, and he adjusts. He’s kind of like Pedro (Martinez) was on the mound. First time he’s up against you, he’s gonna set you up with a fastball. Then comes a curve. Then all of a sudden, he’s going since, then he going’s high. He sees how they’re trying to defend him — defenseman and goalies — and then he adjusts.”

Red Sox fans who witnessed the pure dominance that was Pedro Martinez in his back-to-back Cy Young Award seasons of 1999-2000 can surely understand Montgomery’s comparison. This puck scribe will never forget this early September night at Yankee Stadium in 1999:

Pastrnak is already the first Boston Bruins player to hit the 50-goal mark since Cam Neely did it in 49 games during an injury-riddled 1993-94 regular season, and score 55 since Neely did that in the 1989-90 season. His goals are scored with the same electricity as Pedro’s strikeout punches and like Pedro, Pastrnak has a flair for the dramatic. So, as Montgomery pointed out Friday, yes, Pastrnak is at that level and he will absolutely define elite if he hits that 60-goal mark before the Boston Bruins close out their regular season against their version of the Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, in Montreal next Thursday.

“It means you’re an elite goal scorer,” Montgomery replied what such a milestone would mean for Pastrnak. “I mean, elite as there is. To think, in the Bruins’ great history, Phil Esposito is the only other player that has done it is pretty amazing because of all the great players that have come through here.”