With or without Loui Eriksson in Boston past Monday’s 3:00 P.M. trade deadline, David Pastrnak is an important piece to the Bruins’ playoff puzzle. Of course, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and potentially Eriksson will continue to produce and continue to lead the Bruins in their playoff push.

But the question has to be asked: is Pastrnak the key to the Bruins making the playoffs?

Battling injuries for most of the season, Pastrnak appears to be finally healthy and has been playing some of his best hockey as a Bruin of late.

Wednesday’s impressive 5-1 victory over the Penguins was the perfect example of what the 19-year-old can bring to the table. His speed and ability to get to the net paid off as Pastrnak scored twice in a huge victory for the Black and Gold.

“He’s been good for a while. I don’t think it’s tonight. I’ve liked his game now for probably the last three, four,” head coach Claude Julien said to the press following Wednesday’s victory.

“Again, he’s come off a major injury and he’s had to catch up with the rest of the guys, and it takes time. At the beginning, he really looked like he was having a tough time, but right now he’s certainly shown that he’s getting better and feeling more and more confident. To me, tonight he was the guy for all three periods that I thought skated really well for us.”

His skillset is what drew the Bruins interest and resulted in the club using their first round pick in 2014 on the Czech-born winger. But the things that Pastrnak is now doing away from the puck are what have impressed his coach.

“When you look at David last year, even the beginning of this year, every time he was in a battle along the walls you’d find him on his butt. So now he’s a little bit more – it’s not just about being stronger, it’s also about the experience,” Julien said. “I think he’s getting a little bit lower versus standing up straight; the minute you stand up straight you’re off balance. He’s trying to avoid the hit and that was hurting him more than anything else. It’s really gotten better in there. He’s never been a guy to shy away.

“As you know, he was on his butt because he was going there. But he’s getting a lot better along the walls and his skating game. The fact that he’s been playing now for a while has made a big difference, too. Like I said, that injury set him back quite a bit there. So it’s nice, again, to see him find his game and he was really a good player for that line [Wednesday].”

The next month is going to be a difficult one for the Bruins who will take on a playoff team in 11 of their next 14 and head out West for the always difficult swing through California.

As he continues to improve and continues to regain confidence, a recharged and more confident Pastrnak could be what ultimately leads the Bruins back to playoff hockey as every point up for grabs from here on out are important ones.

“Yeah, definitely. You know it can be – one game you can feel comfortable and the other game it doesn’t go your way” Pastrnak said following his two-goal performance. “So [Wednesday] it went my way and gave me some confidence. So I just have to stick with it and play good and smart hockey.”

The Bruins scoring depth has been questioned at times this season despite the fact they enter Friday as the league’s third-highest scoring team. But there’s no doubting that Pastrnak’s offensive output is going to be crucial to the Bruins success as they enter the league’s final full month of hockey.

As a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his career, Brad Marchand knows what needs to be done to put the puck in the net. Marchand likes what he has seen from Pastrnak and knows his play will only help the team down the stretch.

“Oh, for sure. I mean I think early on when Pasta came back it was, it’s tough. Any time you miss a bunch of games, and you’re out for a bit with an injury, it’s tough to get back. I mean, guys, they’re working so hard every day,” said Marchand, who enters Friday fifth in the league in goals with 31.

“They’re constantly getting better and moving past you, so he’s done a great job working hard and coming back, and he’s playing phenomenal right now, and that’s what we need from him. You know, he did a great job stepping up tonight (Wednesday), and when he plays like that it’s exciting, you know, with his speed and skill, and yeah, the opportunities he created, so it’s great to have him playing like that.”

As teams continue to draw up ways to slow down the dangerous Bergeron line, more and more attention is being paid to the Krejci line. A trade of Eriksson could really shake things up on the second line, but a retooled and more confident Pastrnak could be the beginning of bigger and better things for the Bruins.