Trending: Johnny Beecher, Jesper Boqvist and Justin Brazeau of the Boston Bruins. Oh, what a night these three had in Tuesday’s (March 19) 6-2 home victory over the Ottawa Senators. And even though coach Jim Montgomery shuffles personnel on his fourth line quite often, this combo he cobbled together could become “a thing.”
It’s certainly kind of cool that all of their last names start with the letter ‘B’ (and, it should be noted, their first names all start with ‘J.’) So what do you call it if they stay together as Boston’s fourth line? The ‘B’ line? The Buzzing B’s? The Triple B’s? The JB’s? Ahh, we are getting ahead of ourselves here, no doubt. There are other worthy players itching for fourth-line game time, so by no means is there a guarantee that these three will stay together or stay on the big club roster moving forward.
All three have played a lot of the season with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL). And, what’s more, they play with three very different styles.
Related: Bobby Orr’s Landmark Season
Boqvist? Speedy, shifty, elusive and on the smaller side at 6-feet, 180 pounds. But he can move and he can dazzle.
Beecher? A digger. He can be a playmaker and has good defensive sense with good stick work. His capable offensive skills aren’t eye-catching, but the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is a beast in the face-off circle, having won 55.2 percent of his draws. Oh, and he can play on the penalty kill.
Brazeau? A 6-foot-5, 220-pound power forward with deft puck handling skills and scoring ability who brings a physicality to the corner and in puck battles. Also, he’s been used on the power play.
It’s possible that one, two or all three of these guys could be with the big club for the long term.
To be fair, there is at least one other player whose name does not start with a ‘B’ who we don’t want to forget about being in the mix for a fourth-line spot — Jakub Lauko (6-feet, 194 pounds). He played on the third line against the Ottawa Senators and his sheer all-out, fiery effort has been crowd-pleasing.
The 3 B’s Put up Nice Numbers Against Ottawa
But let’s talk about how the emerging ‘B’ line did against the Senators. They clicked all night long and it resulted in the following:
- Brazeau: Two power play goals, six shots on goal in 10:57 of time on ice (TOI)
- Boqvist: One goal in 9:25 TOI
- Beecher: One assist in a hefty 14:02 TOI; played 2:15 on the penalty-killing unit; won 11 of 15 face-offs.
“Obviously we are all (three) kind of doing the same thing,” said Brazeau, as noted in a Tweet by reporter Belle Frazer of The Hockey News. “We know we have to play every shift as hard as we can to earn our next one. I think it makes it easy for us to try to play the right way.”
#NHLBruins Brazeau on playing with Boqvist and Beecher:
— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) March 20, 2024
"Obviously we are all kind of doing the same thing as far as we know we have to play every shift as hard as we can to earn our next one. I think it makes it easy for us to try to play the right way."
In Providence, Brazeau has had the best stats of the trio, with 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 49 games. Beecher’s numbers with the P-Bruins are 4-4-8 in 17 games, and Boqvist has gone 10-13-23 in 31 games.
While with the parent club, their numbers are: 5-7-12 in 35 games (Boqvist); 6-3-9 in 42 games mostly in the first half of the season (Beecher); and 3-1-4 in 13 games (Brazeau).
Interestingly, Boqvist is a center and played that position (except for face-offs) against the Senators, with Beecher moving over to the left wing after draws.
“We want [Boqvist] handling the puck, and when you’re a center you get the puck more,” Montgomery told The Hockey News on Monday. “He’s been doing a great job, he’s confident with the puck.”
Boqvist’s goal on Tuesday was certainly memorable. The play started in the Boston end, when, from behind his own net, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk fired a long breakout pass on the left boards to Beecher, who in turn fed a cross-ice pass, with Boqvist working hard to collect the puck slightly behind him while staying onside. From there, Boqvist used his body to protect the puck as he circled around Ottawa defenseman Jakob Chychrun before deking goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to the outside left and depositing the puck between the post and Korpisalo’s skate.
Brazeau’s goal was also a thing of beauty, circling his big body from behind the Sens’ net, and while moving backward to open up space in front, took a Jake DeBrusk pass from the left corner and easily beat Korpisalo to the short side.
Bruins Have Huge Test Against the Rangers
On Thursday, Atlantic Division-leading Boston (41-14-15 for an NHL-best 97 points) play at home against the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers (45-20-4).
Then, on Saturday, the Bruins close out the week by visiting the Philadelphia Flyers (third place Metropolitan, 35-26-8), a team they beat 6-5 last Saturday at the TD Garden.
Strange as it may seem, The Hockey News has the Bruins at No. 8 in its latest power rankings released Wednesday. The Rangers are at No. 4.
“The league’s flawed points system doesn’t reward teams that get the job done in 60 minutes, and the Bruins rank eighth based on regulation wins,” reads the publication’s story that accompanies the rankings. “The competition was soft last week, facing the Habs, Flyers and Sens (all wins).”
