So far this season, there are a handful of reasons as to why the Boston Bruins are sitting on top of the Atlantic Division. You could point the finger at the play of some of the younger players, the system that Coach Marco Sturm has in place, or the depth scoring that the Black and Gold have.
Yes, you read that, depth scoring.
Boston has had some players step up and provide depth scoring this season, as shown on Thursday night in a 6-2 blowout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. After the win that saw the Bruins recover from a first-period deficit, Sturm dropped a statement that not many Black and Gold fans thought they would ever hear when the puck dropped on the 2026-27 season.
"We've been deeper this year than in the past, we feel like," Sturm said, per NHL.com. "Every line can score and every line can be out there in any time of the game. ... I think we probably caught them at the right time too, Pittsburgh. But yeah, it's always nice to see all the goals, all the lines, contribute."
Bruins' depth scoring is quietly becoming key to early-season success
All four lines had a hand in the win over a Pittsburgh team that has struggled early this season. Boston's top line provided two goals from Pavel Zacha, then Mark Kastelic, and the fourth line gave the Bruins the lead for good. Elias Lindholm scored in the first period for the third line.
Morgan Geekie added a strike in the second period, and Fraser Minten found the back of the net in the third period. Geekie scored on a breakaway and Minten on a 2-on-1.
"I think we rely on our structure a lot throughout the game and we kind of just wait for mistakes," Geekie said, per NHL.com. "Teams are good. Sometimes it takes 60 minutes to finally see a breakthrough. Tonight, we saw a couple go in a little earlier than that. But we all kind of play the same way. There's not really any difference between the four lines. We're all, kind of, workers."
Geekie isn't wrong in terms of all four lines playing the same way. It's Sturm's system, and it worked so well last year that Boston was one of the few surprise teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The system and style of play worked through an 82-game schedule. Will it work through an 84-game schedule? It might not seem like much, two games and four points can be big at the end of the season.
The win over the Penguins was huge because it is one of two road games this month for Sturm's team. It is a home-heavy schedule where the Bruins can really bank some points this month before the schedule evens out with a slew of road games later this season. Boston is going to need all the depth scoring they can get. If they continue to get that depth scoring, then they'll be even tougher to play against.
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