Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery still has some tinkering to do when it comes to figuring out his second and third lines, but one part of his roster is becoming more and more untouchable by the game: the fourth line of Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke.
That trio continued what has been a flat-out dominant start to the season on Wednesday, as they were on the ice for three Bruins goals in a 5-3 win over the Avalanche in Colorado. Koepke opened the scoring when he tipped in an Andrew Peeke shot from the point. Beecher set a perfect screen on a Hampus Lindholm goal that pushed Boston’s lead to 4-1, and then iced the game with a late empty-net goal.
The numbers for the fourth line through five games this season are ludicrous. They have been on the ice for 40 minutes of 5-on-5 play. The Bruins have outscored opponents 8-0 during those minutes. No other line in the entire NHL is better than a plus-4 right now. No other line has been on the ice for eight goals – and that number doesn’t even include Beecher’s empty-netter or a goal on Monday that had David Pastrnak on the ice with Beecher and Kastelic instead of Koepke.
Heck, there are 17 teams – whole teams! – that have yet to score eight 5-on-5 goals this season.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. An effective fourth line that plays fast and physical and is responsible defensively? Sure, it was fair to expect that. A completely dominant offensive force that is legitimately playing like the best line in hockey? Come on.
All three have five points in five games, tying them with Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm for the team lead. Beecher is already halfway to the 10 points he had in 52 games as a rookie last year. Kastelic had 11 and 10 points in Ottawa the last two years. Koepke had three points in 26 career NHL games before this season.
These are not offensive juggernauts, or at least they weren’t before right now. But the Bruins have clearly found something that clicks. All three are playing the best hockey of their careers individually, and they complement each other perfectly.
It’s not just the goals either. It’s everything about the way they’re playing. They’re setting the tone shift after shift, a tone much of the rest of the team is still trying to match. They’re forechecking hard. They’re playing fast. They’re constantly crashing the net. They’re killing plays defensively and getting the puck out of their own end, allowing Montgomery to use them late in a one-goal game and feed them a heavy diet of defensive-zone starts. Kastelic and Beecher are both over 54% on faceoffs.
“I think we gotta stop calling them the fourth line,” Montgomery said Wednesday night. “I mean, it’s impressive the way they’ve been playing. They’re earning all the ice time they’re getting. Their details, their work ethic, their puck support of one another offensively and defensively is allowing them to have tremendous success.”
Montgomery has credited Beecher for having a “really good summer” that allowed him to come into the season as a “more explosive” and “stronger” player with better stamina. Kastelic is showing exactly why the Bruins’ front office targeted him as part of the Linus Ullmark trade. Even if they couldn’t have predicted this kind of offense, the pace, tenacity, faceoff dominance and team-leading 22 hits have not been a shock.
Koepke has been the biggest surprise. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract (meaning he would make a different salary if he got sent down to Providence), Koepke was widely considered a long shot to make the opening night roster when training camp began. In three years with the Tampa Bay Lighting, he had never really been able to stick at the NHL level.
But the Bruins identified Koepke as a player who might have something more to give in a different situation, believing his skating, size, physicality, ability to force turnovers and willingness to go to dirty areas fit the way they wanted their reconfigured bottom six to play. As the preseason went on, it became increasingly clear that Koepke was in fact a fit, especially next to Beecher and Kastelic. There’s a reason that was the Bruins’ most used line in preseason action.
“He’s been a great surprise,” Montgomery said of Koepke. “I don’t think he’s been that much of a surprise to our pro scouts that recommended him. They spoke highly about him, and he’s rewarding those scouts and us with the effort and how he’s playing.”
It would be unreasonable to expect this line to keep scoring at the rate they have been. They are not going to be the best line in the NHL all season. But there’s no reason to think they can’t continue to be a very good fourth line for the Bruins. All the ingredients are there, and everything they’re doing aside from the goals seems repeatable.
For now, the Bruins and the three of them are just enjoying the ride.
“I think we’re all playing with a lot of confidence, and we’re really just having fun out there,” Kastelic said on Monday. “I think you could ask any of us, we’ve probably never been in this position, so I think we’re just trying to roll with it and be confident out there and have fun.”