What the ho-hum Bruins offense needs is a true No. 1 center - The Boston Globe
The key names, potentially available, remain Elias Lindholm in Calgary and Sam Reinhart in Florida.
www.bostonglobe.com
Again lacking in offensive mojo, outshot for a fifth consecutive time in their 2-1 overtime OT loss to the Rangers Saturday night, the Bruins nonetheless awoke Sunday tied with the Blueshirts atop the NHL standings with a .741 points percentage.
So, yes, things could be better, but . . .
The Bruins clearly are not the 65-12-5 powerhouse that dominated the 2022-23 regular season standings, yet they’re still decidedly among the league elite in the thick of the 82-game schedule.
No secret, they owe that success chiefly, if not solely, to the stellar goaltending of Linus Ullmark, who was brilliant in Friday’s shootout win on Long Island, and Jeremy Swayman. The latter came away with a point in his last two starts despite only being supported by lone goals against the Devils (Morgan Geekie) and the Rangers (Trent Frederic).
Through 29 games this season, the Bruins by comparison are a pedestrian +21 on the scoreboard, fourth in the league as of Sunday morning. They held a 44-goal advantage at the same point last season.
All of which is to say, despite being knotted with the Rangers atop the standings, the Bruins are very much in need of regenerating their offensive engine in the wake of the Patrice Bergeron-David Krejci retirements. They have yet to figure it out, especially at center.
Top pivot Pavel Zacha, recently sidelined with an upper-body injury, could return for Tuesday’s game here against the Wild. Ditto for Charlie McAvoy, their big dog on defense. Once those two are back and up to pace, that should help an attack that has been out-shot 177-138 over the last five games.
But it’s mainly centers who call a team’s offensive tune, ideally driving lines with speed, puck possession, passing, and goal-scoring. Thus far, Zacha and Charlie Coyle have been filling those 1-2 center spots, and thus far, the results have been more 2-3 than 1-2.
A bona fide No. 1 center could change the dynamic considerably, dropping Zacha into the two-hole and moving Coyle back to the three-hole that he dominated last season. Adding that kind of impact player outside of the UFA market in July, however, is all but impossible.
The key names, potentially available, remain Elias Lindholm in Calgary and Sam Reinhart in Florida. But don’t bet on either of them being moved, at least not until the March 8 trade deadline, and only then if their GMs see zero hope of signing them to an extension.
