Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: It’s not going to happen. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy made it clear Monday that he has every intention of putting David Pastrnak right back in his usual spot on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand when he returns.
The question was asked because Pastrnak took some reps with David Krejci and Nick Ritchie at Monday’s practice, the first in which he took contact as he returns from offseason hip surgery, but that was likely just because Bergeron (maintenance day) wasn’t practicing anyways.
So, that’s not Pastrnak’s new home. But… maybe it should be, at least for a little while.
This isn’t really about Pastrnak, Bergeron or Marchand. We know what those three are together: They’re arguably the best line in the NHL. And taking an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to that trio is completely reasonable and the correct call the vast majority of the time.
But there’s an opportunity here to help out two other key Bruins forwards: Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci.
For whatever reason, the two of them have struggled for the better part of a year now to find the chemistry they’ve had in the past. It definitely wasn’t there the second half of last season. It was there at times during the summer restart, but not consistently. And they were off to a quiet start this season before linemate Ondrej Kase suffered an upper-body injury and DeBrusk got moved over to right wing and up to the top line to try to solidify that side of the ice.
When Pastrnak returns, DeBrusk will presumably go back to the second line, either in his usual left wing spot or by staying on the right with Ritchie remaining on the left, as Cassidy will hope he and Krejci can eventually rediscover that chemistry with more games together.
And they might! But it’s at least worth considering the possibility that the best way to get them going might not be together, but apart.
DeBrusk has already been with Bergeron and Marchand for three games now. While he hasn’t exactly started to fill up the box score, he has started to play better and find his game, and he did register his first point of the season on Saturday when his strong forecheck helped set up one of Marchand’s two goals. He also set up another good chance for Marchand by using his speed down the wing to push back the defense before making a nice centering pass.
In 33 minutes together at 5-on-5, Marchand, Bergeron and DeBrusk have a 47-18 advantage in shot attempts, 23-7 edge in shots on goal, and a 58.1% expected goals-for (all courtesy evolving-hockey.com).
So far, they have scored two goals and given up two. But everything else about their play tells us that over time the goal numbers would begin to reflect all those other underlying numbers, which are very promising. And with that, DeBrusk should put up points and the line as a whole should look like a very good first line, even if not quite a Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak-level elite line.
Krejci, meanwhile, would finally get a reliable winger he can count on to finish, something Pastrnak did 48 times last season en route to winning the Rocket Richard Trophy. In this scenario, Ritchie probably stays on Krejci’s left, which could also help keep him rolling in the midst of a surprisingly strong start.
In addition to hopefully getting DeBrusk and Krejci going at five-on-five (three of Krejci’s four points this season have been on the power play), this plan could also give the Bruins something they’ve been longing for: two lines that can score consistently.
If things did go well and work out that way, Cassidy could either keep riding the new lines as long as it continues, or switch things back at a time when DeBrusk and Krejci are both playing well and feeling confident, which could help them regain their chemistry if they’re both coming back to the partnership in a good place.
And if things don’t quite work as laid out here? Then you just make the switch. Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak is always going to be there, and you can reunite them to at least give yourself the great first line at any time if things aren’t clicking with them apart.
Then you go back to trying to figure out the Krejci line. Perhaps figuring that out is going to be an inevitable endgame in all this anyways, so hey, you might as well just get back to it now.
It appears that is Cassidy’s mindset: Take the sure thing with Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak, then figure out the rest.
Totally logical. But… maybe taking some time to see what the alternative looks like would be worth a shot right now.