Rupp On Pastrnak: ‘You Can Move Mountains With That’

“Because I’m sitting here. …you knew Game 1, awesome! Give it to Boston; they deserved it, they earned it, but you knew Florida was going to come back; they were the favorites in this series, and you get into this game where you almost feel like Florida was gonna be like, ‘Hang on a second here, we’re the guys! We’re the big dogs on the block’ and Boston, if that game ends 6-1 with no pushback; if that game ends 6-1 and they were just like, ‘Oh OK, we’ll just collect ourselves and be ready for Game 3,’ then I’m concerned for Boston.

“But something did happen, and it didn’t happen that way. These guys pushed back, and David Pastrnak, the way he goes out there, squares off, comes off the bench and goes out there. …are you kidding me? His postgame comments? ‘I’m not afraid of Matthew Tkachuk. I can take a punch. I’ll do anything for these guys’ – goosebumps,” Rupp said, praising the Bruins superstar winger.

In case you missed it, here are the postgame comments from Pastrnak that Rupp is referring to:

“I’m not afraid of him. I can take a punch, and I’d do anything for these guys here.”

“I mean, as a depth guy, to know that a guy that could be up for the MVP probably won’t win it this year because he’s not a finalist, but when you get that kind of support that the superstar is in the fight with you, it lifts you up, man,” Rupp went on. “All of a sudden, now I’m like, look out for this Bruins team. They’re not dead; they’re not down. I know it’s 1-1, but they’re going to come back in a big way all because David Pastrnak said, ‘I’m in this with you guys. I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes, I’m going to get uncomfortable for you guys, we have to get uncomfortable.’ – Let’s go! I mean, can you imagine if some of the other superstars in the league did that stuff at the right time? You can move mountains with that sh!t, I’m telling ya!”

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery shared the same sentiments in his postgame comments on the fight.

“What I’m really proud of, is I’m proud Pasta because there so many guys out there pushing after the whistles when the linesmen are there. ‘Pasta’ and Tkachuk, they just went out there and fought.” the Bruins bench boss told reporters. “That’s what you like. You like your hockey players to go out there and be competitors.”

One thing Montgomery didn’t like was Tkachuk’s punches to the head of Pastrnak when he was down and defenseless.

“That’s not part of the game to me,” he said.