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Pastrnak the playmaker helping out
He has 4 assists in Game 1 win
By Kevin Paul Dupont
Globe Staff

TAMPA — David Pastrnak, now in his fourth season with the Bruins, arrives at the rink in shooting mode. His patented play is the one-timer from the left circle, his stick dialed back for his sizzling slapper sometimes before linemates Patrice Bergeron or Brad Marchand dish him the puck.

But thus far in the playoffs, “Pasta’’ is piling up assists like they are family-sized servings at Maggiano’s. He banked four more helpers — two primary, two secondary — Saturday in the Bruins’ 6-2 win over the Lightning, aiding on a pair of goals each by Rick Nash and Bergeron.

“I always make the play I see in front of me,’’ said Pastrnak, asked postgame if he is thinking less in a shoot-first mode of late. “If it’s a pass, I make it. Usually, if I can pass, I pass. Make the play I see. And if that’s a pass, like I say, I pass.’’

Pastrnak’s pass de resistance (groan here), came on Berg­eron’s first goal at the start of the second period. He spotted his linemate free in the slot and dished there for the easy putaway, resisting the temptation to hammer away himself on goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“Yeah, I saw him the whole way, that’s not a no-look pass,’’ said Pastrnak. “He even opened himself up, went a little harder to the slot so it was easier for me to pass to him than shoot through [the goalie].’’

Through eight playoff games, Pastrnak has five goals and 12 assists, a bounty that included his 3-3—6 line in Game 2 of the Toronto series that saw him tie the club record for points in one playoff game.

“I think he is just playing what’s in front of him,’’ said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “When it’s time to shoot, he’ll shoot.

“Pasta certainly has the ability to make high-end plays, and I think he thinks shot-first a lot, but tonight there were plays to be made. Look at the back-door play he made to Jake [DeBrusk] in Game 7 against Toronto. Yeah, typically in the past he’s probably looking to pound that.

“Now maybe he’s exploring all his options. I think he is stronger on the puck now and maybe he has it longer. Before maybe he shot more because he knew he wouldn’t have it as long — now he has the confidence to hold on longer and absorb some of these hits.’’

Job well done

Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos (0-0—0 and two shots on net) had high praise for Tuukka Rask.

“We had close to 40 shots and he made some good saves, so you have to give credit where credit is due,’’ Stamkos said. “He made a lot of good saves, we did have the puck in their end and we utilized our speed. Maybe we need to get to the net with a little more authority.’’

Lightning forward Tyler Johnson was similarly impressed by Rask.

“I thought there were times we were playing extremely well,’’ Johnson said. “We had good opportunities. Tuukka was Tuukka, he made some good saves.

“A couple of those go in, that changes a lot of things.’’

Lighting defenseman Ryan McDonagh on losing the opener: “It’s a little bit of a wake-up call, we had a long layoff, they were coming off a pretty big emotional win and you could see it there, for sure. They have some confidence and they should be confident after coming on the road after a game like this.’’

Winning moves

DeBrusk and the Lightning’s Yanni Gourde were the only two rookies to pot winning goals in the eight opening-round series. Gourde’s second-period strike in Game 1 vs. New Jersey paced the Lightning’s 5-2 win. DeBrusk shoveled home the winner in Game 7 vs. Toronto, opening the door to the 7-4 victory . . . Tampa winger J.T. Miller and Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk were teammates on the US National Development team in 2010-11, when Grzelcyk signed on as a 15-year-old. He played again for the Yanks the following season before beginning his four-year tour at Boston University. Miller played the next season for OHL Plymouth, then turned pro a year later with the AHL Connecticut Whale. Miller came here at the February trade deadline, along with fellow ex-Ranger McDonagh . . . Ex-Bruin defenseman/coach/assistant GM Mike Milbury was on site, working the color position alongside Gord Miller for the NBC broadcast. Prior to ­Islanders owner Charles Wang leapfrogging Milbury’s duties as GM to sign Alexei Yashin, Milbury was in talks with then-Boston GM Mike O’Connell to bring Jason Allison to the ­Islanders . . . The Bruins scored 28 goals in their seven games in Round 1. The goals came from 14 different players, including five each from Pastrnak and DeBrusk. Of all the Bruins to play at least four of the games, the only ones not to score were Riley Nash, Tim Schaller, and Charlie McAvoy.

Globe correspondent Erik Erlendsson contributed to this report. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.