By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
The Boston Bruins started off this crucial four-game road trip 43-24-8. But unfortunately, Boston has only picked up one point in the first three games.
Starting off the road trip in Florida, the Bruins came up short with two frustrating, low-scoring losses against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Jeremy Swayman was really effective between the pipes for the Bruins, but Boston only managed to light the lamp twice against Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Bruins played well enough to at least earn a point Saturday in Tampa Bay, but they failed to extend the lead despite multiple power play opportunities. And a third period surge from the Lightning ended with Boston leaving the ice with a disheartening regulation defeat.
On Easter Sunday, the Bruins were in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers, who are one of the teams fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot in the compacted Eastern Conference. While Boston would capitalize on their lone power play of the contest, courtesy of Pavel Zacha’s 29th tally of the campaign, the Bruins really struggled solving Dan Vladar five-on-five.
Boston has only managed one goal in each contest over this road trip so far. And a lot of that stems from multiple top players hitting elongated goal-scoring droughts.
The Boston skater dealing with the most glaring current cold streak is Morgan Geekie. The winger has been sitting on 34 goals, the most among Bruins players, for 17 games. Geekie has not found the back of the net since March 5th against the Nashville Predators.
The frustration seemed to be boiling over for Geekie, as he snapped his stick against the glass after having a shot blocked in the overtime session. Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm has placed him on different line combinations, most recently deploying Geekie on the top line with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak.
But his inability to reclaim that goal-scoring touch he had at the start of the year is affecting his overall play. The Bruins will need Geekie to snap out of this funk before the regular season ends.
Moreover, the Bruins also need more consistent play out of Pastrnak. While he has been extraordinary this year with picking up assists, he has also endured long stretches of games without finding the back of the net.
Pastrnak has not lit the lamp in the past six games. And against the Flyers Sunday, he was too cavalier with the puck in overtime. He had to haul down Christian Dvorak to avoid having the Flyers get a clean two on nobody in overtime. Philadelphia eventually got a five-on-three and grabbed the extra point away from Boston with Porter Martone’s first NHL goal.
Joonas Korpisalo was outstanding in net, only allowing the first and last shots of the game in. He was particularly effective on Sunday in making pad saves. But the Bruins did not give him much help on the scoreboard.
Pastrnak has been terrific this year with his playmaking and finding success with different linemates and responsibilities on the power play. But his 29 goals are the lowest he has put up in a campaign since the shortened 2021 season. The Bruins will need more offensive production from Geekie, Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, and others as Boston wraps up the regular season.
The Bruins are currently in the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 95 points. But with so many teams still within striking distance of the playoffs, Boston cannot afford to put this much pressure on Swayman and Korpisalo at this stage of the season.
The Bruins wrap up this road trip on Tuesday in Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. Boston will then have a few days off before battling the Lightning for a matinee home game. If you want to see the Black and Gold in person at TD Garden or on the road before the season ends, consider using this official StubHub Ticket-affiliated link here for the most competitive concert and sporting event tickets in the North American region.
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