TORONTO — When David Pastrnak and William Nylander first met, as teammates with Sodertalje when they were 15, they didn’t have a way to communicate. Pastrnak spoke only Czech. Nylander spoke none. So they were reduced to Google Translate.
But there was an immediate chemistry, on the ice and off, with the two becoming friends and linemates. They played together for two years.
“We felt like everything worked, we had chemistry right since the first game and we did pretty good together,’’ Pastrnak said. “It was just good memories from Sweden.
“I’m happy for him that he’s in the NHL. Really happy that we can play against each other in the NHL. That was our dream.’’
Pastrnak made the NHL first, debuting last season for the Bruins, as he scored 10 goals and 17 assists in 46 games in his rookie year. Nylander’s debut came on Feb. 29 of this year, as the Maple Leafs opted to go with a youth movement in a lost season. Saturday marked the first time the friends met on the ice as NHL players, though they had faced each other in the World Juniors previously.
“He’s a funny guy,’’ Nylander said. “We like to have fun together. It’s just a blast being around him . . . He’s a great guy once you get to know him, lively. [We] had fun.’’
Still, as close as the pair are — as Nylander said, “When we see each other it’s like we haven’t missed each other at all’’ — there are, as they say, no friends on the ice. They had dinner together on Friday night, after the Bruins came into town. And, as Pastrnak said, that gave rise to a piece of advice for his old friend.
“We actually walk [Friday] together on the street and he had his head down and almost crashed [into] a tree, so I told him, ‘You better not do it tomorrow, keep your head up,’?’’ Pastrnak said, grinning.
The pair ended up tangling up in Saturday’s 3-1 Bruins’ victory, earning offsetting penalties in the second period with Pastrnak (embellishment) and Nylander (hooking) getting some time together in the penalty box at 4:55 of the period.
For Pastrnak, though, hockey hasn’t exactly been all fun and games of late. The right wing struggled on Thursday against the Panthers, particularly in one second-period shift in which he had at least three giveaways. He was better on Saturday, playing 15:31 with four attempts on net. He was not charged with a giveaway according to the scoresheet.
“I think it was one shift,’’ Pastrnak said. “I felt pretty good in the first period, then had one tough shift, which I’m going to have to learn from. I’m pretty sure it’s going to help me for today.’’
After that shift, Pastrnak went down the tunnel and appeared ready to smash his stick. He didn’t, though, returning to the bench. He did not play again in the period and played only three shifts in the third, including one that was two seconds long. He already had been on the ice in the second for the tying goal by Reilly Smith.
“I just wanted to break my stick, but then I reminded [myself] I don’t have any on my bench, so I had to calm down and just focus for another shift,’’ Pastrnak said.
Pastrnak is still just 19 years old with two half-seasons worth of games in the NHL. His game, especially his defensive game, has yet to mature. He needs experience and time to become what he will eventually become in the NHL, building on a game that has, as Nylander said, “a lot of talent,’’ citing his skill and skating ability.
In the interim, there will be valleys, though the Bruins can’t afford for the offensively gifted Pastrnak to experience them right now. They need him on the ice and performing, not stalking off to vent his frustration and seeing his minutes cut.
“Everybody does mistakes, you know,’’ Pastrnak said. “Some of them are bigger than the other ones and I’m going to learn to make the mistakes on the right place and make the right play on the best part of the ice.
“But I am young and I am learning every game. I’m pretty sure it’s going to help me what happened last game.’’
Morrow ready By now, Joe Morrow is used to this. All season, Morrow has spent game after game out of the lineup before slotting in and being expected to play as if he had consistently gotten minutes. The same was true on Saturday, when Morrow stepped in for the injured John-Michael Liles alongside Dennis Seidenberg. Morrow played 14:58 and was on the ice for Toronto’s only goal.
“It’s not exactly the way that you want to get in the lineup, to see someone else go down like that but I’m sure he’ll make a speedy recovery and be back soon,’’ Morrow said. “Nothing out of the ordinary for me. It’s been like this all year. I guess we’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing before.’’
Morrow has spent the last six games out of the lineup and missed 10 of 12. He has played no more than six consecutive games, and has been out as long as 12 straight, which happened from the beginning of November to the beginning of December.
“We put in a lot of work off the ice and on the ice when these guys are playing,’’ Morrow said. “I’m ready, as Zach [Trotman] would be or anybody else that hasn’t played for a while and gets back in the lineup. There is a level of comfortability, and [I’ll] try and bring the same thing I brought before.’’
Krejci struggling
David Krejci, who missed practice one day on the California trip and who has been struggling of late, looks like he might be at less than 100 percent. But Bruins coach Claude Julien was not interested in putting any of the team’s recent issues on the center. “Right now, I would probably put more of the blame on our whole team than just one player,’’ Julien said. “What he brings to us is far much greater than the few times maybe he doesn’t have the greatest of games. He’s also a leader, he’s also a character player that you have confidence that will step up and really do a good job from here on in. Probably looking at it more that way.’’ . . . Liles is day-to-day with the lower-body injury he suffered against the Panthers on Thursday, according to the Bruins. Word is the injury does not appear to be long-term . . . Brett Connolly, Tyler Randell, and Trotman were the scratches.
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @amaliebenjamin.
