Bruins coach Jim Montgomery changed up his lines after just two games in hopes of generating more 5-on-5 offense. For the most part, it was mission accomplished Thursday night. After scoring two 5-on-5 goals total in the first two games, the Bruins scored three in their 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
There were some clear positives for Montgomery's new lineup, but it wasn't a 100% hit rate. It also has to be noted that the Sharks might be the worst team in the NHL this season, and that a much better test is coming Saturday night when Boston faces the Los Angeles Kings.
Let's start with the positives, though. At the top of the list: the new third line of James van Riemsdyk, Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic played like men against boys. They were dominant all night, right from the game's opening shift when they immediately pinned the Sharks in deep and began cycling with ease.
During the 10:21 that line was on the ice, the Bruins outshot the Sharks 10-2 and held a 5-1 advantage in high-danger chances. They also scored Boston's second goal late in the first period, just 21 seconds after Brad Marchand opened the scoring, on a shift that showcased what they can do best.
Coyle raced into the offensive zone, carried the puck behind the net and cut back before throwing a pass to the front for Frederic. From there, Frederic and van Riemsdyk both jammed away at the loose puck before van Riemsdyk finally poked it home for his third goal of the season. That's what size (everyone on this line is 6-foot-3) and tenacity can do.
"I thought Charlie was dominant tonight and I thought his two linemates owned the middle of the front of the net," Montgomery said after the game. "I thought that second goal really was an exclamation mark of what I think that line can be."
Coyle could have looked at his move from the second line to third as a demotion and come out flat, but as Montgomery put it pregame, he's a "consummate player" and "all he cares about is winning." Plus, it doesn't hurt that he and Frederic were able to pick up right where they left off last season, immediately rediscovering chemistry that makes you think Montgomery should probably just keep them together.
Another positive: The new top line of Jake DeBrusk, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak looked really good, too. Zacha, in particular, played like a man possessed and was all over the puck at both ends of the ice, turning in his best performance of the season so far. As with the Coyle line, the Bruins had a 10-2 shots advantage with this line on the ice.
Pastrnak also scored his fourth goal of the season, albeit one of the most awkward of his career. After winning the puck in the defensive zone, he raced the other way and tried taking it to the net. He got taken down by Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic before getting a shot off, but the puck pinballed off his skate and a San Jose stick and somehow slid off the post and in.
Now, for the one negative: the second line of Marchand, Matt Poitras and Morgan Geekie was too quiet for most of the night. Through two periods, the Bruins were being out-attempted 9-2 and outshot 5-0 when they were on the ice.
Montgomery, despite saying he didn't want to keep shuffling his lines, split them up late in the second period, moving Marchand up to the Zacha-Pastrnak line (Marchand was actually out with them for Pastrnak's goal) and putting DeBrusk with Poitras and Geekie. He put Marchand back with Poitras and Geekie in the third and they did finally find a little bit of traction, but they still weren't exactly dominant.
"I thought we had some good shifts and some that we wish we could've had back," Marchand told NESN after the game. "It's gonna be a work in progress. We've never played with each other before, and it takes some time to build chemistry, but I thought we did all right."
Poitras played a season-low 12:18 and was a minus-1 with zero shot attempts. After being arguably the Bruins' most impactful center through the first two games, he was a distant fourth Thursday night, with fourth-line center Johnny Beecher's first NHL point (an assist on Marchand's goal) and continued strong penalty-killing landing him above Poitras for the night, too.
It's not like Poitras didn't do anything good. It was his zone entry that led to the offensive-zone possession that eventually resulted in Marchand's opening goal. Poitras had changed off for Beecher by the time the goal was actually scored. He just wasn't nearly as involved overall as he has been.
This will be a good test for the 19-year-old. Now he's had his first real hiccup as a pro. His next game is against a tough Kings team that's loaded at the center position. There won't be any easy shifts. Given how good the other lines looked Thursday, the guess here is that Montgomery will stick with the same lineup and give Poitras another shot with Marchand. Let's see if he can bounce back.
"In order to be a good pro, you learn from the game, move on, get ready for the next one," Montgomery said when asked what he hopes Poitras takes from the game. "We're gonna get a real good test when we go to L.A."
