BOSTON – There’s really no way around it right now.
If the Bruins top line isn’t scoring then the Black and Gold aren’t winning hockey games.
It was the same story on Monday night as David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand provided the offense in a 2-1 overtime win against the Dallas Stars, with No. 63 once again playing the overtime hero. The Perfection Line of Pastrnak, Marchand and Bergeron has now produced 22 of the 36 goals that the B’s have scored in 14 games this season.
For all you math experts out there, that’s 61 percent of the team’s offense produced by three players who basically can’t afford to ever take a night off at this point in the season. That’s a whole lot of offensive pressure on the shoulders of just a couple of players, but it’s also the kind of expectation and pressure that World Class hockey players embrace.
And Marchand is certainly one of those after tallying his 13th career overtime game-winner on a bad angle sniper shot just inside the far post.
“We all have to [do] our part. Pull our weight. There are times where we have to do it. There are times where other guys have to do it, and that’s why we’ve been successful,” said Marchand. “So far this year and last year, I think we all understand that we have to bring it every night. I thought a couple of young guys had some really good games. [Anders Bjork] played great.
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“He was everywhere. Heinen won a lot of battles. Kuraly’s line was very good tonight. So, you know, when you have that and you have the D playing like they did tonight: they’re up the ice fast, they’re moving up quick, making great plays, we’re going to be a good team. I mean, [our line] had a great game tonight and it’s because it was a great [team] effort.”
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It certainly was a team effort in that all four of Boston’s lines played well without any major breakdowns, and there was even a close call where Anders Bjork appeared to score a goal that was called back due to a premature Dan O’Halloran whistle. But the song remains the same for the Black and Gold as it’s been all season, and as it was for the most part in last spring’s postseason against the Maple Leafs and Lightning.
Against the middling-to-bad teams, the Bruins will get offense from other corners of their roster and can be a little more diversified in their attack. But against the league’s best it’s top line/top power play or bust, and even proven players in the league like David Krejci (two goals in 14 games) and David Backes (zero points on the season) are struggling to generate offensively. Combine that with the travails of second-year players like Jake DeBrusk (three goals), Bjork (one goal) and Heinen (zero goals), and the Bruins yet to get the engine start for large portions of their forward group.
It certainly helps to have the guy leading the entire NHL in scoring with Pastrnak notching his 12th goal of the season last night in 14 games played.
But Bruce Cassidy also still believes that the rest of the Bruins attack is going to finally start producing at some point this season, and that’s why he’s still very resistant to breaking up the Perfection Line.
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“I know Krech [David Krejci] has scored in this league. I see Jake [DeBrusk] do it last year, [Danton] Heinen, [David] Backes has a little different role, so I know what I have here. I still think that we keep that line together there’s going to be offense sooner or later from that group,” said Cassidy. “[They’ve] just proven it in this league. I think some of it has to do with puck-moving defensemen out of our lineup. Charlie [McAvoy] makes a lot of plays. Torey [Krug] just came back. Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] was out for a little bit. So those guys are good at moving pucks and giving the forwards some, I don’t want to say easy transition plays…but they do.”
Unfortunately for Cassidy and the Bruins, it’s all hopeful thinking until they actually get secondary scoring and offensive push from other areas of their lineup. Maybe the kids can’t repeat what they did as rookies last season in classic sophomore slump fashion? Maybe Backes and Krejci are fighting the decline in their games due to aging, and won’t ever reach the kind of numbers they’ve had in the past?
Certainly the Bruins will take their time to evaluate it and then go outside the organization if things don’t turn around at some point in the near future.
But for now Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak are holding things together and making sure the B’s keep their ahead above water until they actually, you know, start getting a little help from someone.
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