Fifteen games into the 2018-18 season and the Boston Bruins already have scoring problems. Twenty-five of the Bruins’ 44 goals this season have come from the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.
Don’t get me wrong, I am more than enthusiastic to see the top line prospering—proving that they deserve to be the top line—but it is a bit frustrating. There needs to be more contribution when it comes to scoring across the other three lines.
The Bruins sit fourth in the Atlantic Division, only one point behind the Montreal Canadiens—a team projected to be worse than the Buffalo Sabres this season—in third and seven points behind the first place Tampa Bay Lightning.
But here’s the thing. The Bruins have the third-fewest goals scored in the Atlantic Division with 44 goals. The Lightning lead the division with 58 goals, while the Senators, Leafs, Canadiens, and Sabres all have more goals than the Bruins. Thankfully the Bruins have scored more goals than they have allowed—39—but being a “one line” team will be a problem in the near future for the black and gold.
The question is why hasn’t Bruce Cassidy split up the first line and put Pastrnak on the second line with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci? Why not put Bjork back up on the first line where he was last season?
We saw a little bit of Pastrnak with DeBrusk and Krejci during the game against Dallas, but that could have been in the midst of a line change.
Krejci has two goals on the season while DeBrusk has five. Pastrnak, who has 12, would bring that scoring mentality to the second line. Also, Pastrnak has played with Krejci before, and from what I have seen, he seems to play great with Krejci.
Why not give it a try? At this point, what is there to lose?
The Bruins are finding ways to win, yes, but it would be great if they could have their entire roster contribute and not rely on the first line as heavily. Spread the scoring out, and hopefully, good results will happen.
