This has been one of the roughest seasons for injuries in recent memory for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins coaching staff has had to make an awful lot of changes to their lines and their defensive pairs. Some of those changes worked well for the B’s, and others left us scratching our heads.
When Claude Julien had to re-organize his lines after the loss of David Krejci, he didn’t have much left to work with. Out of necessity (and perhaps desperation), the Bruins bench boss chose to pair Milan Lucic with Providence Bruins call-ups Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak. This has been one of the best line configurations he’s made all year, and the Spooner line is one of the biggest reasons the Bruins are back in playoff contention.
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Claude Julien said after the game that the Spooner line was the B’s most productive line in March.
Milan Lucic has been struggling this year, but has finally found stability. Lucic brought home the game winner for the Black and Gold tonight with just 1:09 in regulation. Lucic put in a one-man rush that was unable to undress all five Panthers and fire a rocket through Roberto Luongo for the goal and the win. Lucic has found his speed again, and he couldn’t have found that missing gear at a better time.
Puck Prose
Jack Edwards is probably right. This was Lucic’s most important goal of the season. The Bruins chances of the seeing the post-season is now 75.7% and rising. The Bruins are now only two points behind the Red Wings with five games to go.
Ryan Spooner has had the love of the fan base, the respect of his teammates, and for some odd reason the ire of Claude Julien. Even when Spooner could bring in exciting plays and solid goals, Julien still admonished the young center. He even went back to Providence for a while. With Krejci’s injury, Julien had little choice but to promote him back to the NHL. Spooner took this opportunity and ran with it.
Spooner is everything the B’s were looking for at the time. Spooner has speed. Spooner is a playmaker. Spooner is able to put together good shifts that lead to solid scoring chances (and that gets the pucks in the crease). Those pluses should negate (to a certain extent) the lack of back-checking from this line. Spooner has finally made a case for him to stay in Boston, and he’s proven himself to be a solid center for the Black and Gold.
David Pastrnak has been the biggest surprise for the B’s this year. The fans voted him this year’s NESN’s 7th Player Award for easily exceeding our expectations of him. (It’s nice to see that the fan base as a whole got this one right.) Pasta earned a goal, an assist, and a brand new car tonight. He’s got eleven goals and twenty-seven points. (He’s now tied with Chris Kelly for points, and is only a single point behind his idol, David Krejci.) Pasta’s speed is incredible, he has great instincts on the ice, and a high hockey IQ.
His most charming trait is how he treats every goal scored while he’s on the ice. While some players just huddle and nod in acknowledgment, Pastrnak treats every goal like he’s going to Disney World. His love of the sport is infectious, and it’s bringing more joy to the bench.
This line was initially meant as a short-term fix to help the Bruins cope with injuries. Now, it’s coming neck and neck with the Patrice Bergeron line to see who is the top line in Boston.