The Boston Bruins lost 5-1 to the Winnipeg Jets Friday night. It was the fourth time in the last seven games that they’ve been held to a single goal. They mustered just 13 shots on goal through the game’s first 40 minutes. They’ve now lost three games in a row.
At the same time that was happening, Georgii Merkulov had two goals and an assist to lead the Providence Bruins to a 6-3 win over the Rochester Americans. He now has eight goals and six assists in his last seven games. He leads the P-Bruins in scoring for the second straight year.
Skate Pod Mailbag: Could Merkulov get called up soon?
It’s hard not to look at Boston’s problems and wonder if Providence’s star could help fix them.
Let’s make one thing clear: Merkulov cannot and would not singlehandedly fix even a fraction of what went wrong for the Bruins Friday night. Every player in the lineup needs to play a lot better than they did.
The Bruins looked slow. They lost too many foot races and 1-on-1 battles. They turned the puck over with far too many bad passes and poor decisions. They missed defensive assignments.
Their best players didn’t play like best players need to. The top line of Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak no-showed, posting a minus-2 and combining for just one shot on goal. Charlie McAvoy made an ill-advised pass that led to an odd-man rush the other way and Winnipeg’s first goal of the game. Hampus Lindholm repeatedly struggled to make a clean first pass on the breakout. Jeremy Swayman looked off in net, especially when it came to rebound control.
Calling up Merkulov wouldn’t be about finding some magic elixir that cures all their ills, though. The hope would be that the 23-year-old Ohio State product might provide a spark, especially offensively. It would also be a nice reward for a player who is doing everything he can in Providence to show that he deserves it.
Now, or in the very near future, could be the perfect time to do it. Matt Poitras is away at World Juniors for possibly as many as seven more games, plus maybe a game or two to recover once he’s back. The Bruins lost a potential offensive spark, not to mention some youthful energy, the moment Poitras hopped on a plane to Sweden.
Like Poitras, Merkulov is a natural center. The Bruins could slide Morgan Geekie, or even Pavel Zacha, to the wing to make room for him. It’s possible Merkulov could play wing, too – he did a little bit in Providence last season – but chances are they would want to keep him at his best position for his first NHL action.
The window to give Merkulov a look might close once Poitras returns. Playing two rookie centers has already been challenging enough for the Bruins and coach Jim Montgomery at times. Having three on the team at once seems unlikely.
It wouldn’t need to be a permanent call-up for Merkulov, unless of course he forced their hand and turned it into that. But a short-term, little taste, even just for a few games, could be beneficial for both the Bruins and Merkulov.
It should be noted, though, that there are some logistical hurdles in the here and now. Boston plays again Saturday night in Minnesota. Providence goes from Rochester on Friday to another game in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Saturday. That might be too inconvenient and too tight of a turnaround to make a Saturday call-up realistic.
After that, the Bruins have three days completely off for Christmas before flying to Buffalo on Wednesday. If they called up Merkulov for that game, he would not have a chance to practice with Boston before playing. On the other hand, sometimes throwing a rookie right in allows him to play a little looser and not overthink things.
There is also the NHL’s holiday roster freeze, which lasts until Dec. 28, to consider. While the Bruins would be able to call up Merkulov regardless because they have the cap space and an open roster spot, they might want to keep that spot open in case they have to recall someone else, like a defenseman. They currently have just six D with them with Matt Grzelcyk not joining them on this road trip due to injury. Charlie McAvoy also got banged up Friday night, but he did return to the game.
So, those are all reasons to maybe not call up Merkulov right now, or in the next few days. But if Bruins management decides the team does need a spark, then that should outweigh everything else.