With the postseason right around the corner and the Boston Bruins right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, it’s time for Morgan Geekie to rediscover his scoring touch. Geekie has already set career-highs in goals (34) and points (63) this season, which is impressive considering he hasn’t scored a goal since March 5 against the Nashville Predators. For those keeping score, that’s a 17-game scoring drought.
Geekie has improved in each of his three seasons in a Bruins uniform, but the raw totals won’t mean much if he remains a non-factor in the scoring department when the games matter most. His scoring woes aren’t due to a lack of trying and undoubtedly, nobody is more frustrated than Geekie is with how things have gone as of late.
It’s fair to say the Bruins have been playing above their weight class all season long, and this season has been a success no matter the outcome. That said, expectations are fluid and the preseason expectations for this team are far different than the present-day ones. At this point, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, though unlikely, would be disappointing. Because of this, the Bruins will need their best players to be their best.
As it stands, the Bruins are likely going to finish the season with three 30-goal scorers. Geekie, who still leads the team with 34 goals, paces both David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha, who have 29 goals apiece. It would take a disaster for the Bruins to miss the postseason entirely, but simply qualifying for the playoffs shouldn’t be the goal. The Bruins have shown resilience this season and at times, have looked as good as any other team in the entire NHL. If they can fire on all cylinders when it counts, they could be a dark horse this season. That does feel like a fairly big “if” at this point, though, given how things have gone.
Bruins Shuffling Lines
Head coach Marco Sturm has already started shuffling the lines to try to get the most out of his players. Geekie was reunited with Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak, a familiar trio for the Bruins who need to stop the bleeding before it’s too late. The team’s second and most consistent line, featuring Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt, remains unchanged and should be leaned upon heavily to produce down the stretch.
Another option for the Bruins to reinvigorate the scoring, outside of just shuffling their lines, could be to sign top prospect James Hagens to his entry-level contract.
Hagens hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire since signing his ATO with the Providence Bruins, but there’s no denying his offensive ability. Offense often becomes harder to come by in the postseason and creativity can make all the difference in a tight series. His talent would be a breath of fresh air for the Bruins and injecting it into the lineup could be the determining factor between a strong playoff run and an early exit. At the same time, putting such steep expectations on a 19-year-old with just four points in six professional games doesn’t feel like the most reliable plan of action.
Related: Bruins Must Carefully Consider When to Debut Hagens
Geekie has proven he can consistently score in the NHL and the Bruins shouldn’t need to rush Hagens just to get him back on track. It’s not an easy situation for Sturm to be in as he navigates his first season as an NHL head coach, but it’s also a testament to how well he’s operated in the role all season long. Turning the team around just one season into what can only be described as a retool has been nothing short of impressive. The time is now to prove that this season hasn’t been a fluke, though.
