A loss in Arizona would have been just plain unacceptable for the Boston Bruins. From all angles, too.
They had already dropped the first three games of the road swing, seemingly losing in a more frustrating fashion from Anaheim to Los Angeles and then to San Jose. And adding another loss to the column, especially to a team like the Coyotes, who simply can’t win in their own building, before a four-day break that’d end with a visit from the ultra-elite Chicago Blackhawks would be beyond the worst case scenario.
But behind a five-goal effort, the Bruins salvaged their road swing, returning back to the Hub with two of a possible eight points in their pocket, and hanging on to their wild card spot by two points.
It was a little bit of everything that did the job for the Bruins in this one, too.
Brad Marchand had two goals on the night. Both of Marchand’s goals came on great dishes from Reilly Smith, too. Strange as it sounds, it’s the latter that’s more important for the Black and Gold. During the four-game swing, the 23-year-old Smith had two goals, four points, and put 11 shots on goal. All four points came in the trip’s final two contests. Smith had just four goals and six assists in the previous 26 games played. He’s finally heating up, and appearing to contribute on a semi-regular basis. But even when he didn’t score, No. 18 looked way more like the 20-goal scorer from a year ago than the Smith that’s struggled out of the gate this year. That could obviously be a boost from reuniting with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, but at this point, the B’s really don’t care where, why, or how they get their scoring from.
Finally, some unexpected scoring came from the lineup’s depth, too, as defenseman Kevan Miller scored his first goal of the season while Simon Gagne got the board with his third of the year. Given the B’s injury woes and uncertainty with high-end talents like David Krejci (undisclosed) and Milan Lucic (who’s without question missing Krejci feeding him the puck), the long awaited contributions from their bottom-six and bottom-pairing defensemen is overdue, but welcomed.
And it was Loui Eriksson that put an end to Boston’s 0-for-17 power-play drought, and scored his fourth goal of the season. The goal put an end to a 12-game goalless drought for Eriksson, and gave him just his second in the last 22 contests. It’s been yet another frustrating season for the 29-year-old winger, and fans that have asked for more out of him haven’t been in the wrong, I don’t think. When you look at that 22-game slump for Eriksson, you look at what he did with the puck on his stick. Or what he didn’t. Of those 22 contests, Eriksson finished the night with one shot or less (read as: zero) a whopping 10 times. For a player most had projected to be the top-line sniper in 2014-15, that’s simply not enough.
The Bruins need Eriksson to be a bit more selfish, take charge a bit more, and bury his chances. He did all of that last night, which is great, but that doesn’t mean they can afford another major drought from No. 21.
Tuukka Rask finished the night with 24 saves on 26 shots, and the defense in front of the 27-year-old kept the ‘Yotes from finding legitimate second-chance opportunities.
But it wouldn’t be a B’s game without a little bit of controversy or second-guessing, or so it seems.
The biggest question in the win came before the puck even dropped, though, as Claude Julien decided to make 18-year-old rookie David Pastrnak the club’s healthy scratch up front.
It’s an odd move for a squad that’s lacked offensive dynamo all year long, but not one that should have left you screaming about Julien’s perceived hatred for young, skill players. Taking a look at Pastrnak’s first five games as a Bruin, you’ll notice one constant-- top-line center David Krejci is nowhere in the lineup.
And at five games, the Black and Gold have just four more before they have to make a decision on their 2014 first-rounder before his entry-level contract would kick in and count against the club. You’d think that the B’s would like at least one -- or maybe even two -- chances to see Pastrnak play with Lucic and Krejci on the top line and realized that they could probably skate without him against a mediocre-at-best Arizona squad.
But if there’s one certain after last night, it’s that the Bruins should abandon that first-line unit of Lucic, Carl Soderberg, and the recently unscratched Seth Griffith. They struggled to keep the Coyotes’ top line at bay, and didn’t generate much of anything at the other end.
Soderberg likes playing with Eriksson (and his possession numbers would tell you the same), but the Bruins are in a weird place when it comes to utilizing Griffith’s speed and talent on a nightly basis. The Wallaceburg, Ont. native has just two goals in his last 13 games, and hasn’t looked like much of an impact without a Bergeron or Krejci centering his line. At the same time, you can say that about so many players on this roster, so it’d be rather unfair to single Griffith out for that. But in the now, Griffith’s status as a right wing pits him against Smith, Eriksson, Pastrnak, and Gagne, which puts him at a disadvantage as the B’s seem determined to give Matt Fraser more ice time at his natural position on the left side.
You can expect the B's to continue to tinker and experiment with their lineup up front with their next four days away from the rink.