The Bruins have received 5 in a row, seven of their final eight and pushed their means again into the Japanese Convention playoff bracket. However one nagging query stays.
Can we belief this?
Whereas many groups have have had bouts of streakiness, as coach Marco Sturm identified earlier this week, the Bruins have been the poster kids for that trait. In 48 video games, the B’s have had two six-game shedding streak (0-6, 0-4-2) sandwiched round a seven-game win streak. They’ve received a handful straight once more and re-established their dwelling mojo after a pre-Christmas 1-3-1 homestand that knocked then off beam.
Now they should take the present on the highway, the place they’ve been completely mediocre (10-11-1). They play in Chicago on Saturday and have a tricky one in Dallas on Tuesday. It’s cheap to have conserably much less confidence on this workforce when it wanders away from Causeway Road.
However there have been some promising indicators within the final couple of weeks. Listed here are a couple of:
*Charlie McAvoy has been enjoying his greatest hockey of the season and maybe of his profession not too long ago. Within the five-game homestand, he was plus-9 with 1-5-6 totals.
He was particularly impactful within the B’s 4-2 win over Seattle. On an evening when not many Bruins had their A sport they usually misplaced Andrew Peeke early, McAvoy was a drive. He performed 28:00, notched a pair of assists and was plus-3. When the sport was on the road late within the 6-on-5 scenario and the Kraken threatening to tie it, he skated the puck out of hazard and drew a penalty.
“He’s enjoying excellent,” stated Sturm after Thursday’s win. “Even off the ice I really feel like he’s rising as a frontrunner, too. Does a whole lot of the proper issues. Takes care of himself. He’s in a great spot proper now. You guys noticed him greater than I did previously. I don’t know the way good he was right here, however I used to be all the time an enormous fan of him. However, you’re proper, proper now he’s undoubtedly enjoying the most effective hockey I’ve seen from him.”
*Marat Khusnutdinov is wanting like a legit top-six ahead. He’s not going to have many four-goal video games like he did in opposition to the Rangers however you may see how good he’s feeling about his sport. His 10-11-21 totals in 43 video games is already greater than what the 2020 thirty seventh total choose produced in 91 video games over three years with Minnesota. His pace actually confirmed up in Thursday when, within the first minute of the sport, he gathered a McAvoy feed on the fly, burned previous a Seattle defender and tucked dwelling a purpose.
His greatest trait could also be his capacity to hunt pucks for his linemates, particularly when he’s enjoying with David Pastrnak. He’s small however deceptively robust on pucks and he appears amenable to doing the much less glamorous work. However he’s bought expertise, too.
“You possibly can see it now,” stated Sturm. “He’s holding on to pucks. He’s not in search of David on a regular basis. However that simply exhibits me he’s assured and that’s what we would like him to be. He’s been excellent all season lengthy. We sort of know the place he’s proper now on the time, he’s killing for me, enjoying on a high and now he’s scoring a couple of objectives, too.”
*And from the dangerous information/excellent news division: Morgan Geekie stays colder than a Manitoba winter, his goal-less streak now at 11 with simply three assists in that point. Nonetheless the B’s main purpose scorer with 25 on the season, Geekie seems to be missing the identical confidence in his bullet of a shot he had earlier this season. So the place’s the excellent news in all this? The B’s have been in a position to win with out Geekie’s output. And he had been too scorching for too lengthy, relationship again to the second half of final season, to suppose he can’t pull out of this.
Viel traded
The Bruins made a minor commerce on Friday, dishing reserve ahead Jeffrey Viel to the Anaheim Geese for the sooner of the Geese’ two 2026 fourth-round picks that Anaheim had beforehand obtained from Detroit and Philadelphia.
The 28-year-old Viel was a pleasant story in October because the journeyman powerful man made the opening night time roster. He had an excellent camp and will nicely have been claimed on waivers if uncovered. However greater than that, Viel making the workforce appeared be an announcement from administration that it was critical about this workforce being more durable to play in opposition to.
That time, apparently, has been sufficiently made and Viel grew to become a luxurious the membership may not afford on its roster. With the Peeke decrease physique harm from Thursday night time, the B’s wanted a roster spot, which they stuffed by calling up defenseman Billy Sweezey from Windfall on an emergency foundation.
Viel had not performed since Dec. 20 and that was solely sport he had performed since Nov. 29. He had additionally suffered a concussion on Nov. 19 in opposition to the identical Geese workforce he’s now part of when, in a battle with Radko Gudas, he hit his head on the ice.
With the choose acquisition, the B’s maintain 9 alternatives within the upcoming draft, together with two first-rounders and three fourths.
Andersson on radar?
In the meantime, the B’s proceed to be linked to Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The 29-year-old right-shot D is on an expiring contract that’s paying him $4.55 million. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman alluded to on his 32 Ideas podcast on Friday, it’s arduous to think about the B’s buying Andersson with out having an extension in place. The B’s competitiveness has been heartening, however they haven’t any enterprise being within the rental market based mostly on the place they’re of their rebuild/retool.
What wouldn’t it value? It will not be a shock if Mason Lohrei, uneven defensively however nonetheless possessing expertise that might run an influence play, was concerned. The Flames little doubt would desire a first-round choose. With this upcoming draft thought-about to be a powerful one, it will behoove the B’s to hold on to each their first-round picks. However they’ve additionally bought two firsts subsequent season and one among them ought to be expendable. Maybe Fabian Lysell — 11-18-29 in 30 video games in Windfall however doesn’t appear to be within the B’s plans – may sweeten the pot. We’ll see.
However a top-four of Nikita Zadorov-McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm-Andersson, together with a backside pairing of Jonathan Aspirot and Peeke, can be a strong six-pack of defensemen down the stretch. … By the best way, the B’s are 21-6-1 with Aspirot within the lineup. Arduous to suppose that success is a coincidence.
