Boston Bruins: More Top Six Time For Brett Connolly
The Boston Bruins know they’ve got some issues they have to address. With the trade deadline just five weeks away, the Black and Gold know they’ve got to make moves to make their team better as they try to finish out the season in playoff contention.
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The Bruins will need to figure out who they can move. At this point, everyone in New England has argued Loui Eriksson‘s case to death. Personally, I like the Swede. While the Bruins need a defenseman, it would seem crazy to give up their number two scorer for a rental defenseman.
That being said, the Bruins have got to figure out what they’re going to do about forward Brett Connolly. We got Connolly last season at the trade deadline, only to watch him break his hand in his second practice. That caused Connolly to play in only five games for the Bruins last season. The Bruins have been hoping Connolly would be useful this season, but he hasn’t panned out in Boston.
Connolly is still under-performing. He’s currently on track for 11 goals and 27 points. He’s had one goal in the last six weeks. He’s not getting the job done, despite being put with two of the best players in the NHL. With all his limited skill, Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien feels that Connolly is still the best fit to be paired with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
“He’s been a little bit snake-bitten right now as far as goal scoring, ” said Julien in defense of Connolly. “But there are guys in and out and we’re trying to find different things, so [Saturday] was his night to sit out. It doesn’t mean we’re totally unhappy with him. There are certain things we’d like to see from him, but his game isn’t a game that’s really struggling right now.”
That healthy scratch was the third time this season the Bruins chose to sit Connolly. It’s maddening to have such an inconsistent player be consistently rewarded with top-six time. Ryan Spooner and Loui Eriksson would make better choices on the Bergeron line than him. Still, the Bruins believe the scoring will come around and believe he’s do a good job for them in Boston.
“[Connolly] is a good player even if he isn’t scoring,” said Marchand. “My goal the other night against Vancouver, he did a great job in front of the net. If he wasn’t there, then that puck wouldn’t have went in. So he brings a lot of other things to the game even if he’s not scoring.”