After the Boston Bruins lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1, on Saturday night, first-year coach Marco Sturm was rather blunt about his team's performance.
"My grinders were the best players again,'' said Sturm on the NESN broadcast. "And if your grinders are the best players and not my best players, (we're) going to be in trouble."
David Pastrnak didn’t play down the stretch against the Avs. The Bruins' leader was benched by Sturm, which clearly was sending him a message. Why not? Pastrnak made some mistakes, including a brutal center ice turnover that led to Nathan MacKinnon scoring the tying goal in the first period.