Jan 7, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Boston Bruins center
Patrice Bergeron(37) celebrates with left wing
Daniel Paille(20) after Bergeron scored a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Boston won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
With last night’s 3-2 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Boston Bruins found themselves clinging to the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If the Bruins are going to stay in the playoff picture. They’re going to have to do a few things that aren’t going to want to do. They’re going to have to make some permanent changes to the lines, and that will certain affect the futures and careers of several of the Black and Gold.
Last night’s win was a start, but it was by no means a great game for the Black and Gold. The Penguins out shot the B’s by a comfortable margin, and it took more than a little puck luck to give the Black and Gold the win. Coach Claude Julien knew that it wasn’t the B’s best performance.
More from Bruins News
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins bringing back familiar forward on tryout contract
- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
“So it wasn’t a perfect game,” said the Bruins bench boss post-game. “But I think the win was really important for us. You talk about, ‘Where’s the confidence?’ Well, you need to win some games to get some confidence, so it feels good to get that win in overtime. And finding a way to win, I think that feels good, but no means do we feel or think that we’re out of the woods here. But it’s a good start.”
Moving forward, what changes can the Bruins make to right the ship in 2015?
1.) Make the call on David Pastrnak. The Bruins recalled last year’s first round draft pick from the Providence Bruins shortly after the eighteen year old forward returned from the World Juniors. Pastrnak had a solid performance playing for the Czech Republic. He put up seven points (one goal) in five games.
Pastrnak is a team leader in scoring and assists in Providence. He’s scoring more than a point a game for the Baby B’s, and he’s playing on the top line with Alexander Khokhlachev and Jordan Caron. Pastrnak might be the filler needed to replace the departure of Jarome Iginla. The Bruins have had a season long open try out for the top line wing slot, and so far no one has really cut the mustard up there. Pastrnak would work great with David Krejci and the B’s might finally have a stable set of top six forwards. The only concern for the Black and Gold is that if Pastrnak crosses the nine game threshold, he’ll burn a year off his entry level contract. For a cap starved team like the Bruins, that might be too risky a proposition for them at this time.
Puck Prose
2.) Change the lines. Permanently. Claude Julien is known for making radical changes to his lines. Those changes occasionally bring success for the Bruins, but then Julien goes back to his original configurations. Julien can be too conservative, and he needs to make his useful line changes more permanent. For example, look at last night’s Bergeron line. Patrice Bergeron (who makes everyone he plays with better) was paired with the unusual combination of Milan Lucic and Daniel Paille. Lucic brought his grit and skill, and Paille brought his speed and solid skating.
That line worked. Daniel Paille had one of his best games this season for Boston, and he played a season high 17:10. He wasn’t playing on a grinder line. He was being given a chance to perform like a former first round draft pick. While some people may have balked at having him on the second line last night, he made an impact on the team, and got an assist on Bergeron’s first goal of the night. Lucic had a two point game himself, with both assists coming off the Bergeron goals. That line was a +6, and it worked well.
The AHL players sat most of the night, and maybe that was for the best. The Bruins need to be putting their more experienced players on the ice for crucial games, and that means giving Jordan Caron a few more games. He certainly hasn’t been terrible in his NHL showings so far this year. It’s time to put him with the Swedes and let Chris Kelly center the fourth line. It might sound insane to you, but Kelly’s leadership is needed with the rookies, and Caron’s play style would mesh well with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson.
If Pastrnak isn’t going to be a permanent solution this season, the B’s will need to make this kind of statement.
3.) Remind the Bruins their jobs aren’t safe in Boston. Peter Chiarelli’s rewarding players with huge contracts and no-trade clauses has been a disservice to the Bruins organization. Granted, he was rewarding some of the players for winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. The problem is that several of those players are certainly not earning their paychecks right now. Last year, the very thought of trading Milan Lucic would have sent the fan base into a blind rage. Now, it’s a possibility. Claude Julien and Peter Chiarelli need to remind the players that poor performance will not be tolerated anymore. It shouldn’t have required Charlie Jacobs to call them out during a press conference.
The Bruins morale isn’t great, but at the moment it’s holding. If the Bruins can achieve a win against the New Jersey Devils, they’ll have their first piece of momentum in 2015. If the Bruins are truly committed to themselves, they’ll be able to get back into the playoff race.