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Led by six unanswered goals, the Boston Bruins ended their season-long road swing with a huge 7-3 victory over the Dallas Stars this past Saturday. The win was Boston’s first against a playoff team since Dec. 18, and was just the Stars’ eighth home loss of the year (28 games). It was everything the Bruins needed to make their trip -- which ended with a 4-2-0 mark -- a success a week before the deadline.
Here are five thoughts from the road trip finale…
Win in Dallas felt like Bruins of old
When the Stars went up 3-1, the Black and Gold had every reason to quit. Put in a 2-1 hole by an
Antoine Roussel goal that very well could have been waved off for goaltender interference (the Bruins challenged it and lost), the deficit became 3-1 when
Adam McQuaid knocked the net off the pegs on a Patrick Sharp effort that was ultimately ruled a goal. (The referees said that McQuaid knocked the net off on purpose, which while I don’t agree with, was an odd way of saying that the puck was going in the net with or without the net on its moorings. That, I agree with.)
And on the road, and victimized by two tough luck goals, and at the end of this trek that’s come with more frustration than tangible results, it seemed like things could get ugly in Big D.
Instead, the Bruins come out for the second and rebound with a power-play goal from
Brad Marchand (his 30th of the season), a game-tying goal from
Kevan Miller just 35 seconds later, and the go-ahead (and game-winning goal) from
Loui Eriksson just 5:09 after Miller’s strike. The Bruins then added on with three third-period goals; a power-play goal from
David Krejci, an empty-netter from Brett Connolly, and the seventh courtesy of
Matt Beleskey.
And man, was this a game that the Bruins needed.
Given the way they’ve been absolutely ripped apart by playoff caliber clubs again and again, their response was something of Bruins Old. Of course, one game doesn’t erase the negative qualities you’ve noticed about this group when it squares off with great teams, but it’s the positive stride you’ve longed for. (And hey, any time you limit the all-world
Tyler Seguin to one shot on goal through nearly 18 minutes of time on ice, and that line Benn-Seguin-Sharp line as a whole to just one goal, is a plus.)
How much does Seguin’s success in Dallas play into the Eriksson situation?
While Seguin didn’t light the world up in his sixth career game against his former club, the 24-year-old is still a straight-up ridiculous talent for the Stars. Seguin already has 31 goals (third in the NHL) and 65 points (also third in the NHL) through 60 games this season, and has 105 goals and 226 points in 211 games with Dallas since being acquired from the Bruins back in 2013 (jeez, time flies, doesn’t it?).
And the main piece sent back to Boston, Eriksson, has been solid in his time in the Hub, with 53 goals and 130 points in 201 games with the Black and Gold. Eriksson’s been at his Boston best this year, too, with 21 goals and 46 points (one away from matching his season-high with the B’s) in 59 games.
Beyond Eriksson, though, the Bruins have little to show for the trade that’s undoubtedly come back to bite them, at least in terms of Seguin’s impact on the Stars.
Matt Fraser was lost to waivers (though without much of a loss for the Bruins really),
Reilly Smith is now playing his hockey in Florida, and
Joe Morrow, though maybe through no fault of his own, has been a fringe-NHLer.
In the grand scheme of things, the Stars are a bit of a one-man act when it comes to their return package (Rich Peverley has retired while Ryan Button is currently playing in the German League), too, but the one-man they got (Seguin) is basically all they really needed.
So, in other words, how much does Seguin’s success affect what the Bruins can and will do with Loui?
It’d be easy for the Bruins to blame ‘old management’ and simply ship Eriksson off to the highest bidder before Feb. 29, but man oh man will it look bad for the Bruins if the
only thing they have to show for trading a top-line center is a seventh defenseman they rotate in and out of the lineup every other game. By now, most have come around to admit that the Seguin trade was a huge miscalculation for the B’s front office, but some of the loudest voices in that room from that era, team president
Cam Neely and
Don Sweeney, were with the team then, and remain there now. So, saying, ‘Well the old regime did that, can’t blame us!’ would border on insulting to their fanbase.
And I think it’s a huge reason why the Bruins haven’t exactly rushed an Eriksson trade. The Bruins, for better or worse, have to save face when they can with Eriksson. If you do indeed move Eriksson by next Monday, you better be damn sure it’s for a piece you can view yourself building around -- primarily a young defenseman with legitimate top-four upside -- and not just spare parts. And like I’ve said again and again, I’m not necessarily positive that such a return is out on there on the open market.
‘Cause if the Seguin trade return ultimately becomes
just Morrow,
Jimmy Hayes (the lone piece sent back to Boston in the Smith-to-Florida trade and with just 12 goals and 27 points in 57 games this season), and another guy that doesn’t pan out, it gets even uglier. Somehow.
And is Eriksson still on the trade market?
This is one I’ve wrestled with again and again. You hear one thing, and then you hear another.
But the one thing I continue to hear in regards to Eriksson is that the Bruins would like to keep him in town. It’s just a matter of finding the right deal. The Bruins are not going to go six years. I don’t think they’ll change that stance, either. Eriksson, who turns 31 this summer, isn’t about that short-term life, either. So, something has to give if it’ll work in Boston. Is there a chance that something drastically changes before Monday? I’d have to think no, but the idea of the Bruins finding the perfect deal to flip Eriksson somewhere else by then seems just as unlikely, at least from what I’ve gathered.
The Eriksson situation is a weird one. I don’t get the vibe that the Black and Gold are necessarily shopping him, but that they will listen to offers. So long as it’s a return that helps now
and later. And if you’re a team that’s looking for a rental winger, it’s the now part that might bother you.
There are teams that would absolutely love to acquire Eriksson, and the Chicago Blackhawks stick out to me on that front, but the ‘Hawks do not have the young defensive piece that the B’s would covet in a return. The Los Angeles Kings are another team that would be a perfect fit for the versatile Swede, and with a deeper prospect pool and trade history between Sweeney and Dean Lombardi, it’s a possible fit. (Although I’d have to wonder how eager Lombardi would be to trade another big name prospect to Boston for another pending free agent after sending Colin Miller to the B’s for one year of Milan Lucic.)
In other words, this one’s going down to the wire.
The Curious Case of Kevan Miller
Another pending free agent whose future in Boston seems ridiculously uncertain? Kevan Miller.
Promoted to the B’s top-pair to the right of
Zdeno Chara in Saturday’s victory, the 28-year-old finished the night with one goal and a plus-2 rating, along with the second-most even-strength time on ice among Boston defenders (his 17:56 was second behind Chara’s 19:48). It was a solid night by statistical measures, but Miller did also finish with the worst Corsi-For% among Boston defensemen (33.3%), though it’s worth noting that he was entrusted with several own-zone starts.
It’s been a tough year for Miller. Seemingly on the ice for every goal against and often put into roles above his head (Miller is at his absolute best as a third-pairing defenseman that serves as the physical presence alongside a skillful puck-mover), Miller has constantly drawn the ire of Bruins fans that’s had problems with the B’s defense since the moment
Dougie Hamilton was sent to Calgary. Still, however, Miller is in the midst of a career-year stat-wise just 52 games into the season. He’s already set career-highs in goals (4), points (12), hits (120), blocked shots (95), and shots on goal (47).
In the final year of an $800,000 contract, and an unrestricted free agent this summer, it would make sense for the Bruins to sell high from a position of strength (at least body count wise) with Miller. And given the perennial lack of right-shot defenders available, and with this trade deadline market thin on defensemen as is (you know it’s bad when Roman Polak is considered among the best available options), there’s without question a market for two months of Miller as an insurance policy for some team.
That’s unless the Bruins plan on re-signing Miller, which would seem odd, unless they are enamored with the idea of burying Colin Miller down in the minors (he had one assist and five shots on goal in two games for the Providence Bruins this past weekend) and/or carrying eight defensemen all the time.
Bruins really, really, really have to build off this win
….Hey, back to the on the ice stuff.
You know what’s funny? If the Bruins drop Monday’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, every single positive you took from the Dallas win becomes moot. And isn’t that what you expect to happen? You can almost taste the 2-1 shootout loss already. Sure, that’s a pessimistic way of looking at things, but the Black and Gold have faltered nearly every single time they’ve talked about ‘building’ off a win against a great team. But if there’s ever been a time for them to
actually build, it’s now. And with a six-day slate featuring games against the Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay Lightning, this is where the B’s need to find separation from the pack.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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