By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins return to TD Garden ice tonight as they welcome the Utah Mammoth into town for their first of two meetings this season. The Black and Gold are 2-2 to start the season, and have only mustered a mediocre nine goals across four contests. With that limited production fresh on his mind, head coach Marco Sturm decided to put his lines in a blender and roll out an entirely new top nine at yesterday’s practice.
The first change Boston’s bench boss made was completely refiguring his first line, reuniting David Pastrnak with fellow countrymen Pavel Zacha and frequent flyer Morgan Geekie on his opposite wing. Of all the possible line combinations the head coach could’ve put together, this one has the longest and most consistent track record of success.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the trio of Geekie-Zacha-Pastrnak has skated just over 675 minutes together at five-on-five since the 2024-25 season. In those minutes, the line has out-attempted opponents 705-632, outshot them 321-298, out-chanced them 331-284, and outscored them 37-30. One of the biggest problems Boston has had to start the season is getting its big guns going, so reuniting these three on the same line allows them to tap into some long-standing chemistry and get off the proverbial shnide.
The second and third lines are where things get interesting. Sturm decided to promote both Marat Khusntdinov and Fraser Minten to the second line alongside newcomer JJ Peterka. The one thing this line brings that no other Boston trio can match is straight-line speed.
According to NHL EDGE, Khusnutdinov sits in the 83rd percentile for max skating speed, while Peterka sits in the 93rd percentile. Boston talked all offseason about being quicker and more skilled, and this line provides a potentially deadly combination of both.
The third line is the wonkiest of the new top nine, with veterans Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt sliding down the lineup alongside youngster James Hagens. Hagens is tied for the team lead in goals thus far, but had two costly turnovers in Monday night’s ugly 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Although this particular writer would’ve liked to see a Hagens-Minten-Peterka second line, the rationale behind Sturm’s decision makes sense. Insulate the budding Hagens with two experienced, defensively responsible forwards who aren’t particularly puck-dominant and will allow him to utilize his speed and creativity in the offensive zone while making up for any defensive warts.
The plan is sound in theory, but as Bruins fans have come to realize over the years, nothing works until you see it on the ice. I’m a fan of the thought process and understand where Sturm’s head is at; I just hope the changes yield early results to ease the minds of both players and fans.
The rest of the lineup will stay largely the same as Monday. Matt Poitras will center Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic, while the defensive pairs of Hampus Lindholm-Will Borgen, Nikita Zadorov-Connor Clifton, and Frederic Brunet-Mason Lohrei stick together.
Boston is still without Charlie McAvoy, who is eligible to return from his six-game suspension in Tuesday night’s tilt against the San Jose Sharks. His return will create a whole new discussion about skater combinations, but until then, let’s hope Sturm’s most recent shuffling of the deck yields some positive results.
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