James Hagens and the kids could be X-factor for Bruins

During warmups Tuesday night, James Hagens stood at the Bruins bench as he talked to NESN's Andrew Raycroft for a pregame interview. Veteran defenseman Nikita Zadorov, ever the jokester, decided to mess with the rookie forward who was about to play on TD Garden ice for the first time as a Bruin, reaching over with his stick to adjust Hagens' helmet mid-interview.

Asked about that moment and his early impressions of Hagens in general on Friday, Zadorov skipped the jokes and instead expressed genuine admiration for Hagens and fellow youngsters Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.

"He's great. I'm impressed," Zadorov said. "This year we got three unbelievable kids, and they're all playing on the same line right now. It's fun to watch. … Against New Jersey you can see how smart he is on the ice, how good his stick is. Yeah, I'm excited for him to experience what I'm going to experience on Sunday as well."

In just a few sentences, Zadorov hit on several key points as it relates to what may very well be the most interesting part of the Bruins' roster to watch when the puck drops Sunday night in Buffalo for Game 1.

Third lines can be where series get decided in the playoffs. The Bruins' third line, as currently constructed, features their three youngest players in Hagens (19), Minten (21) and Khusnutdinov (23). Boston coach Marco Sturm did not 100% commit to Hagens playing Sunday after just two NHL games, but did acknowledge there's a "very good chance" the 2025 seventh overall pick will be in.

Zadorov is right that the trio of kids – the New Kids Line, as we've called them on The Skate Podcast – is fun to watch. They haven't scored as a line yet (Hagens' first career point came mid-line change) in their two games together, but they also haven't given anything up.

They have been responsible in their own zone and been able to exit cleanly, they've made plays with speed in transition, they've broken up plays with relentless puck pursuit, and they've forechecked and created chances in the offensive zone. They have an expected goals share of 61.4%.

Hagens has been in the middle of all of it, exhibiting as-advertised hockey IQ and quickly passing the likes of Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves and Lukas Reichel on the depth chart.

"The last two games, he gave me a lot of excitement," Sturm said of Hagens. "I was not sure where he's at, this kind of level, but he did a pretty good job with the puck, managing the puck, playing without the puck. Never got in trouble as a line with Minten and Khus. I feel like there's chemistry. So, a lot of good that happened those two games. We'll see how the next few days play out, but I'm really excited about that."

Now it's a different game, though. Being fun to watch and showing some encouraging signs in two regular-season games now needs to translate to being effective in the playoffs, against a very good Sabres team that makes opponents pay for mistakes with how quickly they can turn up ice.

Boston's core has more playoff experience than Buffalo's core, but the Bruins' third line is one place where they have nothing but inexperience. Sturm will have to be ready to make changes if the kids aren't ready to meet the moment. On Friday, though, he sounded like a coach who is optimistic that won't be necessary.

"If they're going to play exactly the same way they did, especially in the last two games, I'm fine," Sturm said. "That's exactly it. They didn't give up anything. They were exciting to watch. They had speed, they had the brain. They have it all. So, I don't want them to change. That's going to be the bigger challenge for those kids, can they be consistent in a playoff game? I think they can.

"They're going to come out hard. They're going to be excited. Can they play consistent enough? My answer right now, yes. Because knowing a guy like Mints and especially Khus, those guys are very down to earth, but also very ahead of their ages. They've been cocky enough to kind of overpower that, if that makes sense. So, I think they will be fine."