It took 15 seconds to score their first goal of the game, but the Bruins’ top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak have been honing this skill for the last two seasons. No doubt this trio has chemistry, but it’s not something that started naturally for them.
Ironically, it began last season in practice while they were working as the top power-play unit. More recently, those three, along with Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug, will work together as a five-man unit before the team’s regular practice begins.
It’s a drill that looks like they’re just messing around. In fact, it has a purpose.
They’ll all get in position and start passing the puck around with no defenders and no goalie. It’s only them at one end of the ice. The puck is moved with laser-like accuracy, and once it gets going, they even get creative by using their skates to redirect a pass to a teammate before it ends with a one-time in the back of an empty net.
It’s entertaining to see how well they could move the puck.
It’s a set play. If done to perfection, the puck starts with Spooner, goes to Marchand, then to Bergeron, who moves it backdoor to Pastrnak for the one-timer. Even though that unit was working on special teams, it helped Boston’s top line start to create chemistry.
“We just build on that chemistry and learning each other’s tendencies,” Marchand told BostonSportsJournal.com. “Even if you’re not playing against anyone (during practice) guys still kind of roam to where they like to be on the ice. It’s working on communication, or different little plays, moving the puck around and trying to find those different seams, which is how we get a lot of goals. It’s a way for us to continue to get better and build chemistry and it’s been working.”
It worked to perfection Thursday night against the Coyotes.
The Bruins won the opening faceoff and quickly gained control in the offensive zone. When Pastrnak retrieved the puck along the right half wall only 10 seconds into the game, Bergeron quickly dropped below the goal line to create a passing lane and he took two defenders with him.
Pastrnak moved to the right faceoff dot and received the return pass at the bottom of the circle. Meanwhile, Marchand kept moving around the left circle just waiting for the perfect passing lane to open up.
Pastrnak’s one-touch, cross-ice pass through four defenders found Marchand all alone on the off post and he beat Arizona goalie Scott Wedgewood to the short side. It took 15 seconds for the Bruins to gain a 1-0 lead.
The Marchy-Bergy-Pasta trio wasted little time asserting their dominance. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/fUpEimi3Va
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 8, 2017