With 8:27 left in the first period Tuesday, Bruins rookie forward Georgii Merkulov skated slowly back to the Boston bench, seemingly in disbelief over the shift he just had.
Merkulov had combined with linemate Elias Lindholm to force a turnover high in the offensive zone before nearly setting up Lindholm for a scoring chance in the slot. Merkulov then had two scoring chances of his own, lifting a backhand shot over the crossbar from in close and then ripping a one-timer just wide off a feed from Charlie Coyle.
Seconds later, the Nashville Predators got a quick 3-on-2 off a Bruins neutral-zone breakdown and took a 2-1 lead courtesy of Ryan O’Reilly.
Hard work. Good chances. Zero reward. That has, unfortunately, turned into a bit of a theme through the first 10 games of Merkulov’s NHL career. And the 24-year-old is not shy about hiding his frustration.
“It's about putting up points here when I’m up here, and I haven't been doing that,” Merkulov told WEEI.com after Tuesday’s morning skate. “So for me, that's where I get frustrated, because I want to contribute offensively up here.”
Merkulov would get a couple more chances Tuesday. David Pastrnak sent him in on a rush on a second-period power play, but Merkulov again missed the net as he tried to beat Juuse Saros glove-side. He finished the night with five shot attempts while playing over 16 minutes, but had no points in a game the Bruins ultimately lost 6-3. He has zero goals and one assist in 10 NHL games (six this season, four last year).
He knows that needs to change. Merkulov’s calling card is offense. He led the Providence Bruins in scoring each of the last two seasons and is second this year with 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) in 47 games.
With Brad Marchand out injured, Merkulov has gotten the first crack at second-line left wing alongside Lindholm and Coyle. It’s a role that requires some level of offensive contribution if Merkulov is to stick there, or stick around at all.
There has been plenty of chatter throughout this season about Merkulov not getting more opportunities in Boston, especially as the Bruins have consistently struggled offensively. Some have speculated that he could get frustrated enough by the lack of looks at the NHL level that he could want out of the organization.
Asked about that idea Tuesday morning, Merkulov made it clear that his only frustrations are with his own lack of production at this level.
“I mean, it's all about taking the opportunity,” Merkulov said. “For me, the more frustrating part is that I haven't scored yet. I've had a lot of opportunities to score, in preseason and since I played five games so far. I've had chances to score, and I didn’t. That's really the frustrating part for me. When I get sent down, for me the most important part is to stay dialed in and stay producing, because if you go cold, they're not gonna call you up. If you keep putting up points, eventually you'll get a call.”
Until the points start coming in the NHL, Merkulov is trying to prove himself in other ways, too. On Saturday, he had four blocks in Pittsburgh, exhibiting a commitment to defense that he has needed to build into his game as he has developed.
“Probably not my game. I think I had more blocked shots in that game than the past four years,” Merkulov joked. “But I mean, when you don't score, you have to contribute other ways than scoring, and blocking shots is part of it. I'm not on the penalty kill, but if I have an opportunity to block a shot five-on-five, I’m trying to block it.”
Still, Merkulov knows he needs to start scoring if he’s going to help the Bruins in the way they are expecting him to help. He’s here because the Bruins haven’t been getting enough offense outside of Pastrnak and their top line, a problem that’s now exasperated even further by Marchand’s absence.
Merkulov finds himself fighting the mental battle that all young offensive-minded players face when they’re not producing: If you don’t score, you lose confidence, and if you’re not confident, you don’t score.
“Probably get more confident,” he said when asked what he needs to do to get over the hump. “I don't have confidence right now, just because I haven't been able to produce points. I know the team, I mean, they called me up to help secondary scoring. That's why I need to contribute to help the team score more. Because, I mean, Pasta can’t score all the goals. We have to score. Our second line, third line, we have to produce points. I think that's what I'm here for, and I haven't been doing it, so I need to change that.”
Merkulov is getting closer. His line did score once Tuesday, even if he didn’t get a point on it. He could have a longer leash than previous call-ups just because of how depleted this Bruins forward corps is. But yes, at some point soon, he is going to need to start finishing some of these chances he helps create.
UPDATE: Merkulov was sent back to Providence on Wednesday along with forward Jeffrey Viel. Forwards Riley Tufte and Patrick Brown and defenseman Ian Mitchell were recalled from Providence. Additionally, forward Vinni Lettieri was recalled on an emergency basis. We'll see how permanent all of these moves are, because the roster as a whole could still be in flux between now and Friday afternoon's trade deadline.