Marchand, Pastrnak shoot down reported rift in Bruins’ room

After a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday gave the Boston Bruins their sixth straight defeat, team captain Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak publicly addressed reports of a rift in the dressing room on Friday, denying them and calling each other “best friends.”

The report came from Boston readio WEEI’s Rich Keefe, who said the locker room “is a disaster” and that Pastrnak doesn’t want to be on a line with Marchand.”

After Bruins practice on Friday, Marchand spoke with reporters and categorically denied the report.

“I’ve heard what was said in the media this morning. It’s unfortunate,” Marchand said. “I know reporters have a job to do and that job is to report on the team. Usually, you try to be fact-based. But when there’s just blatant lies told in the media, that’s where there’s a problem.”

Marchand went on to say that there’s “zero truth” to the story and that Keefe having a job “is insane.”

“Because Pasta and I are best friends. We’ve been incredibly close for a long time, and the only reason we don’t play together is to spread the depth through the lineup,” Marchand added. “There’s zero truth to him being a problem in the room. He’s one of the most loved guys in the room.”

Pastrnak had the same general response.

“Honestly, I’ve been laughing for a little bit,” Pastrnak told reporters. “I thought he was making fun of me. Then he said it was actually true. I don’t make much of it. I know how I feel about Marchy and know we love each other. I have a huge amount of respect for him. We had a good laugh about it. It’s 100 percent false.”