Bruins' head coach Marco Sturm is rewarding a depth player with a big opportunity

The Boston Bruins are running out of options to supplement their scoring in the top six. While the bottom six have been chipping in with plenty of success, the top part of the lineup has been too inconsistent to make the team successful. Marco Sturm took a chance with Mikey Essiymont in the top-six earlier this season to little results, but his on-the-fly lineup change on Tuesday night might be something that works.

After a particularly poor back-check from Morgan Geekie, something that has been happening far too often this season, Sturm demoted one of the Bruins' top snipers to the third line and elevated Marat Khusnutdinov to the first line with David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm. The move kick-started a five-goal comeback for the Bruins, and even though Khusnutdinov didn't register a point, he had an impact.

Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm connected on a goal in the second period that tied the game at two. Khusnutdinov used his speed and offensive skill to gain the offensive blue line before dropping a pass off to Pastrnak. He fed the puck back to Andrew Peeke, who moved it to Lindholm before he passed it back to Pastrnak, which left Khusnutdinov on the outside looking in on the scoresheet. However, his impact on the play wasn't lost on the coaching staff.

Moving Geekie to the third line gives that group a scorer to help chip in on offense. Geekie might not be as effective without Pastrnak on his line, but Pastrnak has also been turning into more of a playmaker. There have been numerous times this year when he had a clear shot but opted to pass it off to Geekie. With 88 being the only shooter on the first line now, it should give him more chances to score.

Can Marat Khusnutdinov be effective on the first line?

Khusnutdinov can be effective as long as he doesn't make too many mistakes in the offensive zone. He has an endless motor that he can use to forecheck and win pucks for Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak, which is something the line is missing. With Geekie in that trio, they are only effective when they maintain possession in the offensive zone. With Khusnutdinov there, they might be better at winning the puck back.

It could be a short leash for Khusnutdinov, but for the time being, he is going to stick with the first line. With Bruins fans having to watch Justin Brazeau light it up in Pittsburgh, Khusnutdinov becoming a player for Boston would be a small win and help prevent last year's trade from looking like a failure.