It's hard to have a worse day than what Morgan Geekie had on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers. Getting back on a line with David Pastrnak, who helped him become one of the league's top goalscorers for stretches of the past two seasons, felt like the perfect chance for him to get back on track. However, what he put forth should've only further concerned head coach Marco Sturm.
Pastrnak gave Geekie his usual helping of one-timers and open chances. He had a couple of good opportunities, but those one-timers weren't going in as that had been earlier in the season. Geekie also had a chance directly in front of the net that would've gone into the top corner earlier in the season, but missed the net completely.
After that chance, Geekie started trying to do too much, which included a puzzling pass in the middle of the ice that sprung a Flyers player for a breakaway, a reach-in in the neutral zone that caused him to take an undisciplined tripping penalty, and finally an unexplainable penalty for throwing his stick from the bench to try and help Charlie McAvoy. Things got ugly fast for the winger.
The TNT broadcast spoke at length about Geekie's crisis of confidence, and it was clear to see. He was staring blankly on the bench, trying to figure out where it all went wrong, and was even taping his stick before nearly every shift to switch up the mojo. Geekie also had a chance in overtime that he held on to too long, which led to the shot getting blocked into the netting. The over-taped stick was then splintered into two pieces when he slammed it into the glass.
Geekie was one of the best scorers in the league earlier this season and was never afraid to just fire the puck toward the net. Most of the time, the puck went in when he did. At some point, those shots stopped going in, and Geekie hasn't been able to wrap his mind around it. That's why it could be time for him to watch a game from the press box and try to rediscover his game.
The third line for the Bruins right now is a black hole. Elias Lindholm has been silent for a few games now, and it has been a revolving door of left wingers with the two struggling forwards. James Hagens could be what they need to find their games, but you have to question whether Sturm would also scratch Geekie and bring up Matthew Poitras when Hagens made the trip.
After seeing what Poitras did in limited action before the Olympic break, it's hard to argue that he would be better than whatever it is that Geekie is doing right now.