David Pastrnak and Marco Sturm left no doubt after Game 3: Boston's top winger put the heat on himself.

The Bruins dropped a 3-1 decision to the Sabres on Thursday night at TD Garden, and the biggest issue wasn't hard to find.

Boston's power play went 0-for-4 in a game that stayed within reach almost to the final horn.

Pastrnak didn't duck it.

He pointed straight at the group that is supposed to decide games this time of year, and he made it clear that starts with the man who usually drives that first unit.

“Just got to bear down,” Pastrnak said after the loss.

That wasn't a throwaway line.

It was the cleanest summary of a night where Boston got looks and still came away empty.

The winger didn't stop there.

“We had big opportunities on power plays; we got two power plays in the last six, seven minutes. We have to bury one of those. It’s on us guys on the power play to be better." he said, turning a team-wide failure into a personal standard for the players getting the heavy offensive minutes.

He continued:

“Their goalie played well, but we have to make it a little harder on him as well. It was a good opportunity for us, but it’s playoffs. Every game has been tight-checking, and today they came on top of it.”

That's the angle now for Boston.

Not bad puck luck.

Not a weird bounce.

Not a stolen game.

When your best scorer says the answer starts with him, the spotlight follows him into Game 4.

David Pastrnak puts himself under fire after Bruins waste Game 3 chance

Boston's power play is now 2-for-12 in the series, a 16.6 percent clip that is nowhere near the level the Bruins carried through the regular season.

In a tight playoff matchup, that drop changes everything.

During the regular season, Boston clicked at 23.4 percent on the man advantage, good for ninth in the NHL.

That version of the unit hasn't shown up often enough in this round.

Pastrnak also gave credit where it belonged.

He said Buffalo's goalie played well, but he added that Boston still has to make life tougher around the crease and force a harder save.

That matters because this wasn't a blowout.

Pastrnak noted the Bruins got two power plays in the final six or seven minutes, and that was the window to flip the night.

They didn't cash one.

So the story coming out of Game 3 isn't only that Boston lost at home.

It's that Pastrnak publicly owned the failure of the one unit built to swing a playoff game on one touch.

Game 4 is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in Boston, and the pressure is obvious.

If the Bruins even this series, it will likely start with the player who already put the blame on himself.