By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
The 2024-25 season is officially over as the Boston Bruins dropped their season finale 5-4 against the New Jersey Devils. The Black and Gold went down early and battled back, but Brian Dumoulin buried an overtime winner to seal the game. Here’s how it went down:
Pastrnak-Geekie Extends Streaks
If there’s a single positive to take out of this season, Morgan Geekie’s emergence as a legitimate goal-scoring threat. His red-hot streak continued with the Bruins trailing by one almost halfway through the first. David Pastrnak found Geekie alone at the top of the left circle, and the 26-year-old wired a one-timer past goalie Jake Allen to even the score.
Geekie finished the season with a six-game goal streak and an 11-game point streak. During those 11 games, he posted a ridiculous 9-10-19.
Bruins fans had to wait until early in the second period for Pastrnak to light the lamp, and he did so to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Elias Lindholm (on a point streak of his own) feathered a pass to a streaking Pastrnak, who beat a defender and deked out Allen for the tally.
Pastrnak finished the season on an impressive ten-game point streak, with 9-13-22. He finishes with over 100 points and is in the top five in the league in scoring for the third straight year.
NHL Debuts for Farinacci and Brunet
The big news ahead of Tuesday night’s contest was the call-ups of promising young prospects John Farinacci and Frederic Brunet. Both players have impressive AHL seasons (9-28-37 in 57 games for Farinacci and 5-19-24 in 68 games for Brunet) and more than earned the call for their big league debuts.
The nerves were present throughout their first couple of shifts, but interim head coach Joe Sacco thought the duo got better as the game went along.
“I thought (they) responded well,” said Sacco following the game. “This is a tough league to play in, and when you’re evaluating young players, you’re looking to see, not just the mistakes, you’re looking to see things they do well.”
He continued, “I thought (their debut) was positive. I thought it was a step in the right direction…They started to play better in the second and third period.”
Farinacci made the most of his debut, scoring with less than five minutes remaining in the second to cut New Jersey’s lead to 4-3.
“That was awesome, that was a pinch me moment for sure,” said Farinacci. “Happy I could get one.”
All in all, both players looked like they have the potential to be everyday contributors to the NHL roster in the years to come. Both skaters still need further development, but they didn’t look out of place at the pro level.
Draft Results at End of Night
With their playoff hopes dashed and a potential lottery pick on the line, the outcome of this game weighed heavily on the fans’ minds. Entering last night’s contest, the Bruins had 75 points, good enough for the fourth-lowest total in the NHL.
After gaining a point in the overtime loss, Boston is now tied with Philadelphia and Seattle at 76 points. The good news is that the Kraken have more regulation wins than the Bruins, so Boston will have higher draft lottery odds by May 7th.
Philadelphia dropped its contest to Columbus last night, but it still has a game against the Buffalo Sabres. If Philly wins, the Bruins will be locked into that fourth spot. If they lose, the Bruins move into fifth. The machinations of the Black and Gold’s draft standing are explained more clearly here:
The Bruins finish the season 33-39-10. All eyes now turn to the NHL Draft, which takes place on June 27th and 28th.
Game Notes
- Morgan Geekie now has 28 even-strength goals since 11/27/24. That ties him with David Pastrnak for most in the NHL over that span. His 32 goals overall in that time are 4th in the league behind only Leon Draisaitl, Pastrnak, and Tage Thompson.
- Elias Lindholm has spent the last seven games (including tonight) skating alongside David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. In that time, he’s posted 3-5-8 and is +12.
- Fabian Lysell had a gorgeous assist on Marat Khusnutdinov’s goal, which ended up forcing overtime. He finishes the season with 1-2-3 over his last four games.
- Henri Jokiharju finishes 0-3-3 and +9 over his last six games.
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