Bruins once again dragged down by too many passengers up front in frustrating loss to Devils

There aren’t too many surprises when it comes to scouting the strengths and weaknesses of the 2019-20 Bruins.

As has been the case for most of the last couple of seasons, Boston’s offensive output has been top-heavy — headlined by the buzzsaw that is the B’s top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. 

Boston’s 5v5 scoring woes were expected to be lessened in 2019-20, especially with Charlie Coyle driving a third line that was often left rudderless for most of the previous year. 

But even with a strong pipeline of talent at the pivot position, Boston’s middle six has continued to be plagued by ineffective play — forcing Bruce Cassidy and his staff to spend most of the year shuffling through different combinations ad nauseam, looking to put the right pieces in place to get the B’s engine humming.

Based on the results from Tuesday’s disappointing 3-2 shootout loss to the Devils, it looks like it’s going to be back to the drawing board for Cassidy and Co.



Yes, if we’re going to cut the B’s some slack, then we’ll point out that the roster was shorthanded going into a New Year’s Eve matinee down in New Jersey. With David Krejci sidelined due to a nagging lower-body injury, Boston’s second line featured Par Lindholm at the pivot, with Jake DeBrusk and David Backes to his left and right, respectively. 

But on the third line, Danton Heinen was tabbed as a healthy scratch — the latest young forward on Boston’s roster to be taken to task by Cassidy this week. 

The tough love was warranted, in Heinen’s case. During Sunday’s victory over the Sabres, Heinen was unable to clear a puck out of Boston’s zone — giving Curtis Lazar the chance he needed to bury a goal past Tuukka Rask in what was ultimately a 3-2 win for the Bruins. 

Following Lazar’s tally, Heinen only hopped over the boards three times during the third period on Sunday night, and spent Tuesday afternoon watching his teammates from high above the ice at Prudential Center.

Heinen could have used a reset in an effort to get back on track, but his replacement on the third line — Brett Ritchie — left a lot to be desired. 

On an afternoon in which Boston relinquished a two-goal lead, it should come as no surprise that the B’s middle six once again was stuck in neutral, with the club’s offensive contributions against the Devils coming by way of a power-play tally from Marchand and a greasy goal from fourth-liner Joakim Nordstrom. 

With Krejci out and Backes/Lindholm in, the B’s second line was largely listless in the offensive zone. In their 6:13 of 5v5 ice time together, Boston only attempted five shots — two of which managed to reach MacKenzie Blackwood in net. 

Backes, who managed to land those two shots on goal, logged a team-low 7:57 of 5v5 ice time in the loss.

Things weren’t much better on the third line, where Boston only landed three shots on goal during the Bjork-Coyle-Ritchie trio’s 7:51 of 5v5 TOI together.

Ritchie, logging just 11:19 of total TOI in the loss, failed to land a shot on goal, while only recording one hit — a check against Jesper Boqvist in the second period.



Perhaps Heinen was due for a benching, yes. But on an afternoon in which the Bruins were already shorthanded, was Ritchie really the proper solution? 

Heinen has some warts in his game, for sure. But at the very least, the winger can spell some of Boston’s other bodies when it comes to PK duties, while his “B-game” still offers plenty that the Bruins can benefit from during a game. 

After all, his goals against per 60 minutes rate of 1.26 ranks third on the B’s roster (min. 100 5v5 minutes played) behind Lindholm (0.81) and Krejci (1.00). 

Reinforcements can and should be on the way for Boston, beyond Krejci’s expected return to the second line. Karson Kuhlman, sidelined since Oct. 19 due to a fractured tibia, is back down in Providence — where the winger will look to shake off the rust and rejoin the NHL ranks in due course. 

Zach Senyshyn, who impressed despite a small sample size earlier this season, has recovered from a lower-body injury and is also back with the Baby B’s. 

While Backes’ contract likely precludes him from getting moved, one has to think that Ritchie (signed for one year and $1 million this summer) could be waived once one of Kuhlman or Senyshyn are given the green light to return to Boston. 

Perhaps another forward down in Providence leapfrogs those two on the depth chart, or Don Sweeney opts to pull the trigger and acquires some outside help long before the February trade deadline. 

But one thing is for sure. Boston can’t expected to roll out a consistent, impactful middle-six crew with some of these wingers struggling to pull their weight. 

"We just — we didn't have enough urgency," Cassidy said postgame. P"uck management, decision making, I think those go together. We gave them some easy opportunities and couldn't get out of our end. ... Tilted the game a little bit and then they had a lot of life in the third. They're at home, they want to do well. They just had more will than us in the third, that's for sure."