It wasn't a great start to the year for the new addition to the Boston Bruins lineup that general manager Don Sweeney brought in. It was an underwhelming offseason in terms of additions, as most of the free agents were bottom-six additions.
The Bruins' scoring struggles early were throughout the roster, and it wasn't surprising given the lack of scorers that are on the roster. One player whom Sweeney and first-year coach Marco Sturm were hoping would add some production was Viktor Arvidsson. He was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers just a couple of hours before free agency began in a trade, and after starting slow, he's starting to heat up during Boston's winning streak.
Viktor Arvidsson quietly becoming offensive contributor
Arvidsson struggled early in the season, and it wouldn't have been surprising to see him scratched like Casey Mittlestadt or Marat Khusnutdinov, but Sturm stuck with him, and he's being rewarded for it now.
In Saturday afternoon's 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston's offseason addition came up big with the game-winning goal. After Casey Mittlestadt gave the Black and Gold a 1-0 lead in the third period, Arvidsson doubled the lead a few minutes later in what turned out to be the difference after Carolina scored late to cut the deficit to 2-1.
“As a line, I think we are playing more connected and we’re getting a lot of chances,” Arvidsson said. “(Saturday) we got two, so that was nice.”
For Arvidsson, it was his third goal in five games. He scored on Oct. 25 in a win over the Colorado Avalanche at home, then, what may have seemed like a meaningless goal against the Ottawa Senators days later, with under a minute left in a 7-2 loss, sometimes seeing the puck go into the net can ignite a player.
Winning three out of four games has the Bruins playing some good hockey, but while the goaltending has been a big reason for it, so has Arvidsson and his linemates heating up scoring, something that will be vital if the Black and Gold are going to be able to remain in the hunt for a postseason spot.