The Boston Bruins defeated the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-0 Tuesday night in the final home game of the regular season at TD Garden. The B's scored all four of their goals in the first period, with Mark Kastelic picking up two goals, and David Pastrnak earning his 100th point on the season. With the win, the Bruins locked in their first-round playoff matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, but the focus Tuesday night was on one man: Bruins rookie forward James Hagens.
Hagens made his debut on Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, picking up his first NHL point. While Hagens did not find his way back on the score sheet against New Jersey, he still played a strong game. Hagens displayed above-average speed, and I felt he played well in the neutral zone. His offense left a bit to be desired, as at times he looked to be forcing the play (particularly early in the game), which led to some turnovers, but he settled in nicely as the game went on, and I am not overly concerned after one less-than-stellar offensive performance.
The thing that stood out the most to me in Hagens' game on Tuesday was his defense. He was aggressive on the forecheck, got into passing lanes, and kept his head when clearing the puck. If you don't subscribe to my eye test, simply take a look at the HockeyStatCards chart from Tuesday night, which has Hagens as the Bruins' third-best forward in on-ice 5 on 5 expected goals and goals above league average, just ahead of line mate Marat Khusnutdinov, and just behind his other line mate, Fraser Minten.
This brings us to perhaps the most important revelation from Tuesday night's game: The Boston Bruins most impactful line in the playoffs is going to be Khusnutdinov-Minten-Hagens. Each player on this new-look third line has skill, speed, and defensive ability. It isn't the grittiest third line ever put together, but neither was the line of Marcus Johansson-Charlie Coyle-Danton Heinen that combined for 15 goals, 20 assists, and 35 points across the B's 24-game 2019 playoff run.
I am not predicting another Bruins Stanley Cup Final appearance this season; however, I fully believe this team has what it takes to put a run together, contrary to what I said before the start of the year when I almost perfectly inverted the B's record with a prediction of a 28-45-9 season (more than happy to eat crow on that one). If the Bruins do find their way into the final, it will no doubt involve a fantastic performance from David Pastrnak, but I think we would look back 10 years from now and say, "That 2026 Bruins team doesn't go nearly as far without Khusnutdinov, Minten, and Hagens."
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