Pastrnak reveals he was benched for turnover: 'Already moving forward'

Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrnak revealed he was benched for the duration of the third period of Sunday's win over the Seattle Kraken due to coughing up the puck, but he and the team are already moving past it.

"That was a bad turnover ... I just want to move forward," Pastrnak said Monday, per Boston.com's Conor Ryan. "I don't want to be any distraction to our team. The guys know how I feel about them here. It's a bad play. I take accountability and already moving forward."

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that Pastrnak's benching was a coach's decision and didn't elaborate further.

Pastrnak played 14:21 in the opening two periods, recording seven shots, two giveaways, and one block before his night ended prematurely. He entered the contest as Boston's leading scorer with 11 points in 12 games but was goalless over his last three appearances.

Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 23 giveaways this season, but the stat can be misleading, as a team's top players typically have the puck most frequently.

Montgomery has publicly pushed Pastrnak before. The coach said the sniper needed to step up after Game 6 of last season's Round 1 playoff matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pastrnak responded with the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 7.

Coincidentally, Boston's next game comes Tuesday in Toronto. Pastrnak's teammates expect him to be ready.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him in Toronto," defenseman Charlie McAvoy told The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa. "I think he's going to have a great game."

McAvoy added: "He's one of the most important players on our team. He's an assistant captain here. He's so vital to this group. The only thing that matters is us getting two points. I know the way he prepares and the success he wants to have and how much of a competitor he is. Toronto, we can shift the focus. ... There's no time to wallow around."

Sunday's win brought the Bruins to 6-6-1 on the season.