It has been a busy last couple of weeks for the Boston Bruins. The 2024 trade deadline passed last Friday (March 8) with Boston making a pair of minor moves, while some Eastern Conference teams went different paths for the final six weeks ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In this edition of Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down, we’ll look back at the trade deadline, how some Bruins have been producing, and more disappointing results on the ice.
Plus One: Pavel Zacha
Hockey players go through slumps and Pavel Zacha was in one of those. However, the former New Jersey Devils center snapped out of it in a big way for the Bruins with five goals and three assists in his last five games.
He scored two goals in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 4, then scored the only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers a night later. Against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 9, he had two goals in a 5-1 win. He earned Second Star of the Week honors from the NHL for his recent play. He is four goals shy of tying his career high of 21 he set last season.
Minus One: Another Third Period Blown Lead
Here is the first of two examples as to why the Bruins will have no one to blame but themselves if they fail to win the Atlantic Division and finish behind the Florida Panthers. Holding onto leads late in games has been an issue and against the Oilers, they were less than two minutes away from a regulation victory before disaster struck late in the third period, again.
The Oilers tied the game 1-1 when Leon Draisaitl scored with 1:20 remaining to force overtime before Edmonton won the game in the extra session to secure the second point after Draisaitl scored the game-winner 2:18 into overtime. Currently the Black and Gold have 15 overtime or shootout losses, which adds up over time.
Plus Two: Don Sweeney Trades for Pat Maroon
One narrative around the Bruins has been that they fail to lack an enforcer in the lineup. They didn’t have one last season in the first-round elimination at the hands of the Panthers and this season, Milan Lucic has been out since the beginning of the season with off-ice issues. General Manager (GM) Don Sweeney at the trade deadline added one to his roster.
Sweeney acquired Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild for prospect Luke Toporowski and a draft pick. Maroon is a former Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Bruins and their fans know how valuable he was during the playoffs. He is currently out after back surgery, but is expected back by playoff time and should provide Boston with the enforcer in the lineup that had been lacking.
Minus Two: Another Loss vs. Non-Playoff Team
The second example if the Bruins fail to finish in first place will be their lack of success against playoff teams. Losses to the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken twice each after the All-Star Break were joined by a loss to the St. Louis Blues on March 11, 5-1, at the TD Garden.
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St. Louis used some early breaks with a weird bounce setting up the first goal, then two stick penalties on the Bruins’ Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic set up a two-man advantage goal for a 2-0 first-period lead. The Blues built a 4-0 lead before David Pastrnak broke the shutout, but 19-10-7 against non-playoff teams could be better. Yes, they have 91 points and are on pace for home-ice advantage in the playoffs, but those struggles are concerning playing down to their opponent’s level. They get another shot to improve on that on Thursday night (March 14) against the Montreal Canadiens on the road.
Plus Three: David Pastrnak Nets Another 40-Goal Season
Another season, another 40-goal-plus season for Pastrnak. In the Bruins win over the Penguins, the 2019-20 co-winner of the Rocket Richard Award with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals with 48, scored his 40th goal of the season, marking the fourth time in five years he has done that. The one season he didn’t do that was in the 56-game shortened 2020-21 season.
He will come up short in his quest for a second straight 60-goal season, but over the final month and a half of the season, it will be interesting to see if he can net 50 again for the second time in his career.
Minus Three: Jakub Zboril’s Era Over With the Bruins
In his very first draft as GM of the Bruins in 2015, Sweeney had three straight first-round picks. The first pick he had, he selected defenseman Jakub Zboril, before picking Jake DeBrusk and Zach Senyshyn. DeBrusk is playing out the final year of his contract with Boston and Shenshyn is no longer in the organization. Zboril’s time in the organization came to an end at the trade deadline.
Sweeney acquired defenseman Andrew Peek from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Zboril, who has been in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins. In 76 career NHL games, he had one goal and 15 assists for the Black and Gold. It was clear that he needed a change of scenery, but it’s a shame it never worked out in Boston as he was a steady body on defense.
After a trip to Montreal, Boston will return home for a three-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, and New York Rangers before embarking on another road trip. Games against the Canadiens and Senators will be interesting games against a pair of teams that will miss the postseason and should be four points that the Black and Gold should collect.
