Bruins 'crushed' to see several teammates go before NHL Trade Deadline

TAMPA -- The Boston Bruins had a flurry of activity leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday, making five trades that day and seven dating to Tuesday.

Everything was happening so fast on Friday that it didn’t sink in for David Pastrnak until he woke up the next day.

"I'm not going to lie, when I woke today I almost thought it was a dream," the forward said on Saturday. "Yesterday there was so much going on, but this morning the reality really hit.”

Among the moves over that four-day span, Boston sent forward and captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, forward Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs, forward Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild and forward Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers.

The swift changes left Pastrnak and many of his teammates with plenty to process.

“It's been very tough, emotional, and sad,” Pastrnak said. “Personally, I lost three very close friends and it's a very tough pill to swallow. We not only lost big leaders on this team, but great human beings, guys with families that I was really close to and I've been here since Day 1 with them."

Goalie Jeremy Swayman echoed those thoughts and spoke with regret that the group that began the season together didn’t fare better. The Bruins (29-28-8) had lost three straight games and eight of nine before a 4-0 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday moved them within two points of the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"I know none of those guys wanted to leave," Swayman said. "They wanted to see it through here and we had the ability to see it through with those guys, and that's just the most devastating part. The human side of me was crushed.

"Even though it's a business, it's guys that you love. The connection that I had with ‘Marchy,’ Coyle, ‘Freddy,’ ‘Brando,’ ‘Braz’ ... I love those guys and the fact that we can't continue to play together and make memories and push through is devastating."

However, the Bruins were able to channel their emotions on Saturday to get a road victory.

Swayman made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Forward Cole Koepke, who is expected to receive increased ice time, scored two goals against his former team.

Center Casey Mittelstadt, acquired in the Coyle trade, had an assist, and defenseman Henri Jokiharju, who came over in a deal with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, was plus-1 with seven shot attempts (one on goal) in 18:38.

"We are still professional hockey players and you have a job to do," Pastrnak said. "You get the mindset ready and make sure you look forward. We got some great additions and we have a lot of hockey left. We have to focus on this group right now and make sure we keep getting better.

"I think the last two games we were amazing. That's the way we need to play for the rest of the year. We're going to win more games than we lose if we play like this and compete every night like we did in Carolina (in a 3-2 loss on Thursday) and tonight."

Swayman said that the effort on Saturday was a testament to the leadership from the players that are no longer in the locker room but set the standard that the Bruins will have to live up to.

"They did so much for this organization and they left the groundwork for us to build off," Swayman said. "So it's our job, the guys that are in this room, to continue that legacy and just understand that we're going to be friends for life. They're stuck with us for life and that's a good thing."