“Surprises me a lot, exactly for those reasons,” said coach Jim Montgomery, referring to the voids left in the Bergeron-Krejci wake.
The consistency and uptick, noted Montgomery, have been a function of Pastrnak adding more creativity to his game, along with the talented centers who have moved higher in the order — primarily Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle.
“I think people underestimated how good his teammates are, the ones still here,” said Montgomery. “And most importantly, he works in the summer on getting more creative — whether that’s finding more ways to release his shots, off the rush, on power plays, from O-zone play. There’s no bad passes to this guy — he’s going to get it and it doesn’t matter where you put it, he’s going to find a way to get it to the net.”
In the three games prior to Sunday’s tilt against the Red Wings, Pastrnak produced a 3-2–5 line, landing 13 shots on net.
Forbort needs more time
Absent from the Bruins’ lineup since being placed on long-term injured reserve on Dec. 7, veteran blue liner Derek Forbort remained sidelined on the first day he was eligible to return to play.
Forbort did not make the trip, remaining home to continue his rehab. He also will not be with the club for Tuesday’s game in Columbus.
“He’s still a ways away,” said Montgomery. “He’s not day to day. He’s a week [away], anyways.”
Forbort’’s continued absence, though not necessarily a positive for the overall composition of the defense corps, aids general manager Don Sweeney in managing the club’s salary cap. Forbort, 31, is in the final year of a three-year pact that carries a $3 million annual cap hit.
Forbort, dealing with a groin injury much of the season, remains “off payroll” in cap terms, allowing Sweeney to use those dollars elsewhere, such as bringing up rookie center Georgii Merkulov up from Providence. Merkulov, paid $80,000 in the AHL, jumped to $925,000 with his promotion on Friday (all numbers excluding his annual signing bonus of $92,500).
Forbort last suited up Dec. 3, logging 18:09 in ice time against the Blue Jackets.
New jobs for old friends
The Senators solidified their executive office with three moves Sunday, each of the hires with some connection to the Bruins.
Steve Staois, who began his NHL career as a Bruins defenseman, was named the Ottawa’s GM, a few months after being hired as president of hockey operations. He took over as interim GM in early November, replacing Pierre Dorion amid the change in ownership. Staois, 50, played 12 games for the Bruins in 1995-96 and 54 the next season after arriving in trade from the Blues for Steve Leach.
Ex-Bruins center Dave Poulin, a solid contributor across four seasons at the start of the ‘90s, following his higher-profile run with the Flyers, was named senior vice president, hockey operations.
Ryan Bowness, son of former Bruins coach Rick Bowness (currently the Jets’ bench boss) was named associate GM.
Rest for van Riemsdyk
James van Riemsdyk, with but one goal in 17 games since Nov. 18, was given the night off, allowing Oskar Steen to draw back into the lineup. “Purely just the amount of games we are playing,” said Montgomery, explaining van Riemsdyk’s shelving, “and we want a little more speed and fresh legs [against the Red Wings].” … Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who returned from injury to face the Devils on Saturday, also was scratched. “That’s because, just coming back from injury,” noted Montgomery, “and soreness today from playing last night.” Parker Wotherspoon filled Grzelcyk’s spot … Merkulov, after making his NHL debut Saturday, was in the lineup again. “I thought he did a lot of good things,” said Montgomery. “He supported pucks, held on to pucks, his reloads coming back were good.” Smart players, as they get more accustomed to the pace of play, typically make more plays and add to production. “We’ll see if he has that ability,’ added Montgomery, who recalled how jarring it was early in his playing career to go from the AHL to NHL. “Friday night I was in the American League and Saturday I was in Philadelphia [with the Flyers] and I was winded in the warmups. It’s a big difference in pace. Everything happens a second quicker. It might not seem like a lot, but it’s a lot.” Once was the time, one wag noted to Montgomery, that warmups in Philadelphia meant being in the thick of a pregame brawl. “Yeah,” said a smiling Montgomery, “thankfully I was a Flyer.”
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.
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