3 takeaways as James Hagens gets first NHL point in first NHL game

The Boston Bruins snapped their five-game losing streak Sunday night, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 at Nationwide Arena.

The Bruins had already clinched a playoff berth on Saturday, which gave them an opportunity to rest a handful of regulars. Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson and Tanner Jeannot all sat out in this one.

Nonetheless, it was still an important result for the Bruins, mostly just for the sake of getting back in the win column. But it also allowed the Bruins to move back into the first wild card spot, as the Senators lost to the Devils in overtime a little while later. The Bruins can now clinch the first wild card with a win of any kind in Tuesday's regular-season finale against New Jersey.

It was an even more significant loss for the Blue Jackets, whose playoff chances plummeted to 5% with the regulation loss. Their only hope now is to beat the Capitals in regulation on Tuesday in their season finale, and have the Flyers lose both of their remaining games in regulation.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Hagens debuts, gets first point

The biggest story Sunday was the NHL debut of James Hagens, the Bruins' 19-year-old top prospect. He didn't disappoint at all.

Hagens played well and picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Henri Jokiharju's goal late in the second period. Hagens made a clean breakout pass in the defensive zone, then was the first man in on the forecheck in the offensive zone, tying up two Blue Jackets long enough for help to arrive after a line change. Hagens then kicked the puck free to Sean Kuraly, who fed it back to Jokiharju for the finish.

Gritty plays like that might not be what Hagens is known for, but being able to add that to his high-end skill is the kind of stuff that will push his ceiling even higher as a player. Same goes for the defensive-zone details, which were on display several times when Hagens was able to help out low in his own end in order to start the breakout.

Playing on a line with fellow youngsters Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, Hagens played 13:08 with one shot on goal, four shot attempts, a plus-1 rating, and the assist. He also took a hooking penalty, which Charlie Coyle helped along with a bit of a veteran chicken-wing move.

"I thought he played great," Bruins coach Marco Sturm said of Hagens during his postgame interview on NESN. "I thought he didn't make any mistakes. I also liked his linemates. I thought all three of them connected very well. They have good speed. They're the same age group. They were not afraid to play, they moved the puck, and they did a lot of good things. So, I really enjoyed watching and being part of James' first NHL game as a Boston Bruin."

Fourth line breaks through

All eyes were on Hagens, but the real stars of this one for Boston were goalie Joonas Korpisalo and the fourth line. Korpisalo stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced and saved 1.49 goals above expected, according to MoneyPuck.

Meanwhile, the fourth line of Sean Kuraly, Mark Kastelic and Alex Steeves (filling in for usual fourth-liner Tanner Jeannot) snapped out of their lengthy offensive dry spell in a big way. Kuraly had a goal and two assists, while Kastelic had a goal and an assist.

Their first goal came on the Bruins' first shot of the game, after a rough start that saw Boston get outshot 9-0 early on and fall behind 1-0. Kastelic and Kuraly both went to the front and actually ended with a double deflection on Jokiharju's point shot, with Kuraly getting the last touch. Kuraly also assisted on Jokiharju's goal, providing the F2 support on Hagens' F1 effort.

The grinders struck again in the third period, giving the Bruins the lead with 9:38 to go. At the end of a terrific offensive-zone cycle shift, and with a delayed penalty call on the way, Kastelic popped out to the left side of the net and sniped a shot over Jet Greaves' shoulder from a low angle. That got Kastelic to 10 goals and 20 points for the first time in his career.

Prior to Sunday, a Bruins fourth-liner hadn't scored a goal since Feb. 26, the first game back from the Olympic break. Kuraly, Kastelic and Jeannot had combined for just one point since March 1. Scoring isn't their primary responsibility, but that was still too long of a drought. Needless to say, Sunday had to feel good.

First line remains a question

What will the Bruins' first line look like for Game 1 of the playoffs? That's still a bit of an uncomfortable question for Sturm.

Clearly, he would like for it to be Elias Lindholm between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. Sturm put that trio back together last week, seemingly to give them one final chance to recapture their past chemistry before the playoffs.

Things were looking up when Geekie broke out of his goal-scoring slump with a hat trick Tuesday in Carolina, but their two games this weekend really weren't good at all.

They were on the ice for both Columbus goals Sunday. They got hemmed in their own zone on the first, with Lindholm ultimately losing goal-scorer Mason Marchment in coverage. On the second, Geekie turned the puck over in the offensive zone right before Adam Fantilli got behind Jokiharju for a breakaway the other way.

Geekie did score again on Saturday, but that line also got scored on in that game. In the last two games, the Bruins have been out-attempted 37-18 with their first line on the ice, outshot 19-6, outchanced 23-10, and outscored 3-1.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, this isn't just a recent development with this trio. In their 334 5-on-5 minutes together this season, the Bruins have been outscored 19-16 with an expected goals share of 45.7%. That won't do in a playoff series, where you really need your best players to be your best players.

Between now and Game 1, Sturm needs to decide if he trusts Pastrnak, Geekie and Lindholm enough to figure it out and step up when it matters, or if it's time to try some different combinations again. That could mean flipping Lindholm and Minten, or putting Pastrnak back with Minten and Khusnutdinov, or maybe even trying Hagens with Pastrnak.