Pastrnak played through injury for entire postseason

David Pastrnak wasn't fully healthy for the duration of the NHL's restart.

"(He) had a lower-body injury that he played through for the entire playoffs," Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters on Wednesday, including NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty.

Cassidy added that Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase fell behind because they missed most of training camp upon returning to North America from the Czech Republic.

"You could see (Pastrnak) wasn't at top speed," the bench boss said. "Obviously missing time, him and Kase, their conditioning level wasn't where it needed to be to stand the rigors of (the postseason). That was a bit of circumstance. Typically you have a whole year to build that up and we didn't have that luxury this year."

Pastrnak and Kase were both forced to quarantine upon landing in Boston in July. Pastrnak's agent said at the time his client came in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, though the Bruins superstar did not test positive himself.

The duo eventually joined their team in Toronto for postseason play. Pastrnak suited up for all three round-robin games, followed by Game 1 of Boston's series against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, he missed the next three contests before returning for Game 5. Pastrnak then appeared in all five second-round games against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Despite the injury, the 24-year-old contributed three goals and 10 points in 10 postseason contests.

Pastrnak tied Alex Ovechkin for the league lead with 48 markers during the regular season. They'll share the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy despite the fact Ovechkin accomplished the feat in two fewer games played.

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