Boston Bruins
“The shot that he has, it is wonderful. It is the very best on our staff.”
David Pastrnak is aware of what it’s like to seek out the again of the online. Rather a lot.
The 29-year-old star winger has already reached the 40-goal mark 5 occasions in his NHL profession — together with a 61-goal marketing campaign in 2022-23.
Pastrnak may need an in depth observe file of splintering opposing defenses by means of his blistering one-timer, particularly on the facility play.
However the franchise ahead was candid earlier this week when discussing who wields the strongest shot on Boston’s roster as of late.
“He has every thing to attain 50 [goals] on this league,” Pastrnak stated of Morgan Geekie on Tuesday. “I hold telling him, hold reminding him he has a heck of a shot, and he has the goal-scorer intuition. So, he’s gonna get it sooner or later. The shot that he has, it’s wonderful. It’s the very best on our staff.”
It’s a lofty declare from Pastrnak, even when the Bruins ahead is well-versed with regards to lighting the lamp.
However Geekie validated a few of these boasts this week as a part of two-straight victories for the Bruins.
In Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Islanders, the 27-year-old winger uncorked a shot on the facility play that rocketed previous Ilya Sorokin — a 95.68 mph bullet that stands as the fastest shot on goal so far this season across the NHL.
And on Thursday, Geekie as soon as once more discovered twine on the facility play towards the Sabres — marking his sixth-straight recreation with a objective.
Regardless of submitting a 33-goal breakout marketing campaign in an in any other case depressing 2024-25 marketing campaign, there was a stage of skepticism over whether or not or not Geekie — whose earlier career-high in objectives was 17 — was due for some sharp regression in his third yr with Boston.
However by 13 video games, Geekie isn’t simply on observe to repeat these spectacular objective totals. He’s on tempo to smash them.
The Bruins ahead has now scored 9 occasions by 13 video games thus far this yr, placing him on tempo for 57 tallies over an 82-game season.
“As a ahead — once you’re scorching, you’re scorching, proper? So this child — he simply must shoot the puck and it’s gonna go in,” Marco Sturm stated after Boston’s 4-3 extra time win over Buffalo. “So I’m proud of him. Once more, he’s a very huge menace for us on an influence play.
Numerous the time, the main target will probably be on Pasta, particularly on our energy play. And it’s good to have one other weapon, particularly like him. I’ve at all times stated his launch is spectacular. Now I do know why he scored so many objectives final yr. So he simply has to make use of it.”
Along with his present six-game objective stretch, Geekie can also be simply the sixth Bruins participant with a number of objective streaks of a minimum of six video games — becoming a member of Cam Neely (3x), Phil Esposito (3x), Barry Pederson (2x), Johnny Bucyk (2x) and Ken Hodge (2x).
Fairly good firm to be in.
However regardless of each Pastrnak’s reward and his spectacular scoring stretch, Geekie isn’t attempting to get too carried away with long-term projections at this stage of the NHL calendar.
“We’re fairly early nonetheless. I imply, clearly any kind of participant of his caliber says one thing like that — you’re taking it to coronary heart and I respect it,” Geekie stated of Pastrnak’s feedback. “We’re good mates. However I imply, there’s nonetheless a protracted solution to go.
“I’s not likely one thing that’s on my thoughts proper now. My favourite projections are the one when someone has three factors within the first recreation — they usually’re on tempo for like, 200 factors. So we’ll see how issues go in a month or so.”
It’s to be anticipated for Geekie’s 50-goal tempo to decelerate because the season carries on, particularly given his unsustainable 33.3 % taking pictures share thus far this yr.
After all, Geekie additionally generated what was presumed to be an unsustainable 22.0 taking pictures share final season — a yr the place his 31 objectives over the ultimate 55 video games of the 2024-25 marketing campaign have been tied for the third-most within the league behind solely Leon Draisaitl and Pastrnak.
And this season, there is perhaps much more avenues for Geekie to generate offense past simply driving shotgun on a line with Pastrnak.
An elevated position on the facility play has paid dividends for Geekie, who has already scored two power-play objectives on the person benefit this season. Final yr, simply 4 of his 33 tallies got here on the facility play.
With new assistant coach Steve Spott overseeing the the facility play this yr, Geekie has been utilized extra of a taking pictures menace subsequent to Pastrnak — be it in a flanking spot on the opposite aspect of the offensive zone or located additional up the ice the place one of many two serves as extra a decoy.
The outcomes have been encouraging for an influence play that at present ranks thirteenth within the NHL with a 22.2 % success fee on the facility play.
Geekie additionally hasn’t been as reliant on Pastrnak to generate his personal offense thus far this yr.
Final season, the Bruins generated a powerful 4.19 objectives scored per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 motion when Pastrnak and Geekie have been each out on the ice collectively, per Natural Stat Trick. This yr, that objective per 60 fee when the duo is skating collectively is simply 1.9.
For the Bruins, some optimism might be drawn from the truth that even with Pastrnak and Geekie not fairly on the identical web page at 5-on-5 play fairly but, Boston continues to be averaging 3.31 objectives per recreation — and each wingers are nonetheless on tempo for over 40 objectives.
Geekie has a methods to go if he needs to validate himself as one of many league’s prime objective scorers. However confidence can go a great distance with regards to beating goalies at hockey’s highest stage.
And confidence isn’t one thing that the Bruins ahead is missing thus far this yr.
“I feel it’s powerful to create confidence when issues don’t go in. … I didn’t come into the league being a man that was going to attain a bunch of objectives,” Geekie acknowledged. “So it’s powerful to turn into a kind of individuals with out having outcomes.
“So to have the ability to see them go in final yr, particularly in the direction of the top of the yr, is like — you already know you are able to do it. And now, once you get these alternatives this yr, even the alternatives that you just would possibly cross up on beforehand, you simply attempt to take these probabilities. And clearly, proper now, they appear to be moving into.”
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