The Boston Bruins have not played to their expectations this season, and with the team falling in the standings, players now have to deny reports of tension in the locker room.
With the Bruins in the midst of a six-game losing skid, Rich Keefe, co-host of Jones & Keefe on New England's WEEI suggested that things might not be all rosy between leading scorer David Pastrnak and captain Brad Marchand.
The radio host reported that Pastrnak is at the centre of a rift in the room.
"David Pastrnak has told the team he doesn't want to be on a line with Brad Marchand, and it may stem from Brad Marchand calling out Pastrnak for some of his play throughout the year," Keefe said. "Pastrnak may be your best player, 60-goal scorer, all that stuff. Also, the main reason why it is a disaster inside the locker room."
This led to both players appearing in front of reporters to squash the reported rift between the two.
Pastrnak denied saying he doesn't want to be on the same line as Marchand.
"I’ve never in my life said I don’t want to play with this guy to the coaching staff or management and I never would," Pastrnak said. "I love playing with Marchy. I’ve been playing with him for so long.”
Pastrnak leads the team with 42 points (17 goals and 25 assists) in 44 games this season. He has four goals, one assist and is a minus-7 in the past five games.
His giveaway on the power play Thursday night led to a Tampa Bay short-handed goal en route to a 4-1 victory for the Lightning. Tampa Bay leapfrogged Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division as the Bruins dropped into a wild-card spot.
"Brad Marchand's the captain. He has seen plenty of times where Pastrnak has either done something stupid in the defensive end or whatever else and has probably called him out on it," Keefe said. "I'm guessing he doesn't like being called out."
Marchand responded adamantly to the comments saying that they are not based on facts.
“Pasta and I are best friends. We’ve been incredibly close for a long time, and the only reason we don’t play together is to spread the depth through the lineup," Marchand said. "There’s zero truth to him being a problem in the room. He’s one of the most loved guys in the room. There’s zero issues in the room at all and to say he’s at the centre of anything is a completely fabricated lie. This guy has zero merit to anything he’s saying… This guy can go pound sand and go back to the closet where no one knew he was before and report on nothing because that’s what he’s going to be doing after this.”
It doesn't get any easier for the Bruins as they return to action Saturday against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
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