Head Coach Jim Montgomery made adjustments to the Boston Bruins lineup, and the team delivered its strongest performance of the 2024-2025 NHL season so far. While it wasn’t flawless and there are still areas to improve, the changes had a positive impact.
Riley Tufte and Max Jones entered the lineup in place of Justin Brazeau and Morgan Geekie. Tufte, who played just 6:54, and Jones, with 9:22 TOI, did not significantly impact the game. Meanwhile, center Matthew Poitras had 8:23 TOI saw his average drop by almost half, having a ripple effect.
Montgomery’s best decision was to place Trent Frederic on the second line as the right winger, alongside Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle. This move led to the most significant performance from the second line so far this season, but we are just five games in.
The fourth line of John Beecher, Mark Kastelic, and Cole Koepke continues to excel in nearly every area, especially in scoring. They have outperformed every other line in the NHL, applying strong pressure during their forecheck and controlling possession while effectively preventing goals against them. Although it is clear they cannot sustain this level of performance throughout the entire season and there is a temptation to promote one of them to a higher line, it seems difficult for Montgomery to separate them at this time.
Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and David Pastrnak are starting to build good teamwork. They performed much better in their forechecking and cycling, which led to some scoring chances. With a bit more time, they will get to where they need to be.
The defensemen performed significantly better this night, with Hampus Lindholm leading the way. He seems to be regaining his form from two seasons ago. Lindholm and Mason Lohrei made excellent passes that helped create goals, and Lindholm also scored one himself.
Joonas Korpisalo also played well and earned his first victory of the season. He would probably like the third Colorado goal back but he got there in time and just didn’t have his body tight. That’s a fixable issue but he was there early in the first when the Avs were looking to take the lead and he was there in the third period stopping 13 of 14 shots as Colorado tried to mount a comeback.
The powerplay came alive and scored twice while also looking much better in their other opportunities. But it was against a Colorado penalty kill that isn’t exactly the best in the NHL. But the signs that they are working on improving with the man advantage are there.
The penalty kill, usually a strength of the Bruins almost let them down in this game. They surrendered 3 goals on 4 Colorado powerplays and that can’t happen every night.
If Frederic is indeed the solution for the struggles on the second line, the Bruins now face a gap on the third line. Tufte seems to have played himself off the team. Meanwhile, I think Jones should be given more time since he missed much of training camp and the preseason due to injuries, so I’m not ready to dismiss him just yet. This situation puts Montgomery in a position to choose among Jones, Poitras, Geekie, and Brazeau. Tyler Johnson might also be considered.
Whoever Montgomery decides to ice, the Bruins can’t have a let down. They need to continue to build and work towards their game. Again, it wasn’t perfect, but it’s a start.
Dom - Hockey 