Even with growing pains, Anders Bjork solidifying himself as potential top-six weapon for Bruins

On a night where Anders Bjork very well could have snapped a few twigs in frustration, the 22-year-old winger took the high road and focused on the positives.

Bjork came thiiiiiis close to breaking a secondary-scoring slump that has haunted the Bruins for over two weeks — with the last five-on-five goal from a B’s forward not named Bergeron, Marchand or Pastrnak coming off the stick of Joakim Nordstrom back on Oct. 20.

On Monday night against Dallas, Bjork appeared to tally his second goal of the season in the closing minutes of the second frame, tucking a loose puck past Anton Khudobin for the go-ahead score — a gritty goal from a young skater more lauded for his wheels.

And even though the goal was waved off — with the refs whistling the play dead seconds earlier after believing that Khudobin corralled the initial shot off a point blast from Torey Krug — the sum of Bjork’s efforts were easy to discern following the eventual 2-1 win.



While Bjork finished with 11:12 TOI during 5v5 play, he certainly was not a liability despite his bottom-six designation — with Boston holding the edge in attempts, 16-5, whenever Bjork got the call to skate out on the ice.

On a line that has notoriously struggled this season, especially with David Backes at the pivot (B’s outshot 46-30 during Backes’ 82:34 of 5v5 TOI entering Monday’s game), the trio of Bjork, Backes and Danton Heinen did just about everything but score against the Stars — posting a Corsi For Percentage of over 75 percent when all three were out during 5v5 play.

“I thought Anders again was doing things we were asking him,” Bruce Cassidy said. “Danton, the puck was finding him he just couldn’t quite separate and get his shot off. So, again, posts. Backes did his job in the middle. I think they got in trouble maybe once in the third period there, extended shift. Other than that, did their job, created a little offense, so I liked our look tonight in terms we went to that where we’re at home and we can control a bit of the matchups.”

Given his ability to get up the ice in a hurry, Bjork has the potential to be a viable top-six threat for a Bruins team still starved for secondary scoring. I mean, he’s already done it — starting last season on the top line with Bergeron and Marchand and fitting in with that duo pretty seamlessly.

So what has kept the forward from climbing his way up the depth chart?

Even though Bjork has mentioned numerous times this season of the work he put in over the summer to improve his upper-body strength, Cassidy mentioned Monday following morning skate that Bjork still has a ways to go in terms of winning puck battles — both along the boards and when challenged by a bigger body.

“He got pushed off some pucks the other night. That's just the physical thing that you've got to decide. … One of the things I see the top line do well is put a puck to an area, get position and then skate on to it again instead of trying to hold it where you're getting engaged in a battle,” Cassidy said. “They separate themselves, use their body, put the puck to a tight area. Might throw it off the boards.

“You've seen it a lot with them. Marchy is real good at it. ... Anders has to learn a few of those little tricks of the trade. How do you do that? I think it's just game situation and reps. And that's where he's at right now. ... He's got the foot speed, he's got the willingness to do it. He's just got to get the strength part where he can get away from those guys. Once he gets, it seems like in tight with them, he doesn't have the core strength or whatever strength there is to separate, because there's some pretty good defenseman in this league.”

If Monday’s showing was any indication, it appears that Bjork was listening to his coach.

In the sequence leading up to his disallowed goal, Bjork was right in the thick of it down low — joining Heinen in the battle for a loose puck before re-entering the zone and stealing the biscuit along the boards.



Bjork disallowed goal from Boston Sports Journal on Vimeo.

Rather than hold on to the puck and rely on his speed to get him out of danger, Bjork also opted to make the smart pass twice during the Backes line’s extended zone time, ferrying the puck up to the point for a blast from a defensemen. And even though he was bullied around a bit in the slot, Bjork was at the right place to pot the loose puck past Khudobin following the shot from Krug.

All positive signs from a still relatively green forward looking to find his game in the NHL.

“I think our line produced a good amount offensively,” Bjork said. “I think our whole team was going which was good, and I think our line provided some energy that we kind of got our team going a bit. So, that was cool, and I think we played a full 60 minutes. Our whole team did, but for our line to do that was encouraging, because, I think, me personally, I had a couple tough games leading up to this one, so it was nice to string together a full 60-minute game.”

Even though his overall Corsi For Percentage is tabbed at 47.71 percent — a byproduct perhaps of being paired on numerous mismatched third lines, Bjork has rarely cost the B’s in his time on the ice — with Boston holding a 3-0 edge in goals during his 122:30 of 5v5 TOI.

As Cassidy continues to run through his Rolodex of top-six candidates in an effort to get Boston’s lineup rolling, could Bjork be deserving of another shot up top — especially after a Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork line averaged 4.46 goals per 60 minutes through 12 games together last year?

So far, Cassidy doesn’t seem ready to hit the panic button and blow up Boston’s top forward trio. But at the very least, Bjork is starting to make his case as a dangerous weapon on what has been a largely listless bite from the B’s.

“You look at…it’s coming,” Cassidy said of Boston’s chances. “That’s the way I look at it, and usually it takes a game or two before the floodgates open. And we hope, I’m an optimist, that it’s Thursday or at least later this week where it really starts to happen for us.

“I’ve always found when you’re on a losing streak right before you come out of it you play really well, and things don’t go your way. I think a bit of goal scoring streak can be that way where team’s not scoring and all of a sudden you rattle three posts, or you beat the goalie clean. Like I said, one that didn’t count and a couple other ones that squirted just wide. So, hopefully it’s a good omen for us going forward.”