Every season, there’s always a player or two who take a while to get going, and it may not be until midseason starts to approach that those players start giving us more productivity. One of those players is a forward who, just one month ago, was in dire need of a better November.
At the time, they had just three points in 13 games, and their shooting percentage was beyond laughable. Worse yet, this player looked like they were primed for at least a 60-point season after getting near the mark a couple of times, only to disappoint all of us.
Fast-forward another 13 games, and I won’t say the narrative surrounding them has flipped, but at least they’re showing off better returns lately. If you guessed the player I’m talking about is Pavel Zacha, then congratulations, because he’s the one who not only needed a few bounce-back games, but a little consistency.
The latter, unfortunately, hasn’t come, but the former is starting to show, and it should be a relief for Bruins fans everywhere. This is a team that, with 64 goals scored on the season, needed someone, anyone, or a few players, really, to step up and start playing better hockey, and Zacha has since answered the call with eight points in his previous 13 outings.
Pavel Zacha could be getting hot for the Boston Bruins in December
Now, Zacha is still far from looking like an efficient player overall, as he’s put up points in just two of the Bruins previous five games heading into the Bruins matchup on Tuesday night. Yeah, if you’re reading this one on Monday night, you know I’m getting ahead of myself, but whatever.
He also has just 11 points in 26 games, so if you’re skeptical of my optimism here, I understand. Yeah, one good game, or a great game, here or there could make a player look better than I may indicate, but his three-point, two-goal outing against the New York Islanders was a definite step in the right direction.
He also pitched into the Bruins scoring fest at the Centennial Game with an assist in what was a big win over the Montreal Canadiens. Hey, it tells me he’s on the up and up, especially if Zacha enjoys another good week.
We’ll see what he’s got in store for us as the NHL season heads into December. And if it’s more three-point games, or even if he starts playing at a point-per-game pace, Zacha’s chances of ending the year with at least 50 points aren’t out of the question.