Things were going well for the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins through two periods. The Black and Gold held a 5-2 lead on two Pavel Zacha goals and one each from Morgan Geekie, Mark Kastelic, and Elias Lindholm.
Fraser Minten added a sixth goal in the third period to put the finishing touches on a 6-2 Boston victory. However, there was an injury in the final period as James Hagens made a move around Penguins defenseman Sam Girard, who ended up giving the Bruins a first-round pick, seventh overall in the 2025 Entry Draft, after a cross-check to his lower back.
Hagens was clearly in some discomfort and went to the locker room and never returned. Head coach Marco Sturm didn't have an update after the game, and he didn't even know his 20-year-old forward wasn't on the bench when his name was called later in the period.
"To be honest, I called him up, and he was not there, so I didn't even actually see it,'' said Sturm on Thursday night, per BostonBruins.com. "So we'll see tomorrow. I didn't have a chance to see him. Hopefully he will be ok."
The Bruins were off on Friday, so there should be a much antisipated update on Saturday.
Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie are beginning to heat up
Zacha scored his two goals off saucer passes and finished with quick shots, but another player heating up that us much needed is Geekie.
After struggling to begin the season and frustrated, Geekie's tally on a second-period breakaway and it was the third straight game where he has scored a goal. You knew that he needed to see one go into the net to start seeing him go on a potential heater. However, Zacha echoed what Sturm and Geekie said after the win over the Penguins: there is depth on the Boston roster.
"When we're playing the right way as lines, I think we find ways," Zacha said. "I think we have a lot of skill but I think when we can kind of add winning the battles and making the wall plays, that's how we scored some goals, good wall plays. And we have a fast team through the neutral zone, so we know we can use that. Just using guys for their skill sets, and I think every line can score, which is great."
Bruins begin a tough homestand
The Bruins will get into the thick of their home-heavy November schedule starting Sunday afternoon against the Florida Panthers. The Montreal Canadiens follow next Thursday; the Minnesota WIld and Los Angeles Kings close out the four-game stretch before the Black and Gold hit the road again.
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