By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins have been a bit of a mixed bag to start the 2024-25 NHL season. The fourth line has been a revelation, and the team is generating more production from their defense, but the top nine have struggled over the first four games to generate offense. Today, ahead of a three-game road trip, Jim Montgomery has decided to change the equation.
The team will take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight, and they took to the ice and Denver for their morning skate with a new-look lineup. The second line of Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Morgan Geekie is no more. According to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, Geekie will be a healthy scratch tonight, and Trent Frederic will slot in next to Coyle and Marchand. But that wasn’t the only change Montgomery decided to make. Sophomore Matt Poitras will stay put as the team’s third-line center, and previously scratched forwards Max Jones and Riley Tufte will slot in at left and right-wing, respectively. Justin Brazeau will join Geekie as a healthy scratch.
The trio of Frederic-Coyle-Marchand has some history, and there’s reason for fans to have some hope. These three skated together for one game during last season’s second-round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers. In their time together, shot attempts were 6-5, expected goals were .64-.39, scoring chances were 7-2, and high-danger chances were 4-2.
It’s a very limited sample size, but this line went toe-to-toe with two incredibly talented Florida Panther lines and not only held their own but dictated the play. Don Sweeney and his staff highlighted ‘checking away from (the Bruins’) own net’ as an area of concern this offseason, and their trio could lead to an increase in possession, zone time, and overall offense.
As for the projected third line, this falls into the category of ‘let’s just see what happens.” Poitras has been good to start the season, garnering the praise of his head coach following an assist on David Pastrnak’s game-winner on Saturday. Jones missed significant time in the preseason with an injury but plays a fast, rugged game that could complement Poitras’ passing nicely. Tufte (6’6) is a hulking forward who can use his size to make waves on the forecheck. Hopefully, those three can spark some offense on a third line that has been mostly devoid of production.
Whether the change works or not, it’s become clear that the team’s actions to this point haven’t been effective. Coyle and Geekie are pointless, and the two of them, combined with Frederic and Brazeau, are -19 through four games. Look for the lineup jumbling to spark something tonight in Denver.
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