Bruins' top-6 shuffle paid off in offensive barrage against Penguins

After taking his veterans to task thrice in the span of three weeks by way of pointed postgame remarks, Bruce Cassidy opted for one of the final maneuvers remaining in the good ol' NHL bench boss bag of tricks (beyond outright benchings) — putting his lines in a blender.

While the tried-and-true triumvirate of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have staked their claim as one of the most feared forward trios in the league for years now, a fresh coat of paint was needed for a sputtering B's forward corps, with Pastrnak especially in line for a change of scenery after tallying just one even-strength goal in his previous 10 games entering Saturday's matinee matchup against the Penguins.

As such, after tinkering with his depth chart during Friday's warm-up practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Cassidy rolled out an augmented grouping of skaters for the B's rematch against Pittsburgh — with Pastrnak slotted down to the second line next to another playmaking pivot in David Krejci.

Even though Pastrnak's top-line replacement in Craig Smith fit the mold of a player that typically piles on points alongside Bergeron and Marchand (a shot-first winger with a nose for the net and strong in board battles), a quick fix was not guaranteed by demoting Pastrnak. Krejci and Pastrnak might share the same mother tongue, but the Czech-mates' advanced level of communication did little to yield positive results in games leading up to Saturday — with Boston outscored, 2-0, in the 56:25 of 5v5 ice time Krejci and Pastrnak had shared.

It might have been a gamble for Cassidy to split up what has regularly been his one proven forward line all season in hope of a spark — but the odds certainly fell in the coach's favor on Saturday, as a revamped top-six unit more than pulled its weight in a barfight against the Penguins.



Bruins fans have become accustomed to watching their team's stars perform most of the heavy lifting in the offensive zone over the years, but Saturday's offensive salvos were a welcome sight after weeks of inconsistent scoring and concerning slides down the East Division standings.

Aside from a helper from Charlie Coyle on an empty-net tally, all of Boston's offensive production during Saturday's 7-5 victory over the Pens was generated by the club's top-two forward lines and top defensive pairing of Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk.

Leading the charge was the trio of Marchand, Bergeron and Craig Smith — with Marchand's fourth career hat trick serving as an emphatic stamp on an afternoon in which all of the B's big guns up front lifted Boston out of its recent funk and secured a much-needed two points.



"It was all our top guys tonight," Cassidy said. "Obviously you're going to have games like this throughout the course of the year. I think the type of resumes they have — the Pastas, Marsh, Bergy, Krech  — these guys, they're going to have these games. We just haven't had a lot of them for whatever reason. I think we've run into some really good goaltending. I thought the goals today we scored were excellent — there were no fluky ones, no freebies other than the empty netter... Nice plays. High-end plays by high-end players."

Credit it to new surroundings, Smith's elevated play over the last few weeks or simply the right pieces falling back into place, but the Marchand-Bergeron-Smith line is looking less like a mid-game lineup shuffle for Cassidy and more like an intriguing combination that could help balance out scoring across the lineup — as Boston held a 3-0 edge in goals scored during the 12:13 of 5v5 ice time that the three veterans logged together against Pittsburgh.

Even though it's a small sample size, it's hard to discount just how much Boston has tilted the ice in its favor when this 63-37-12 trio has been called upon, with Boston holding decisive advantages in...

Shot attempts: 40-17
Shots on goal: 30-12
Goals scored: 5-1
High-danger scoring chances: 11-4

... in just 31:07 of 5v5 ice time together.

Not to be outdone, the Ritchie-Krejci-Pastrnak line provided the necessary scoring that Boston has so craved for months now, with Boston holding an 8-2 edge in shots on goal and 2-0 advantage in 5v5 goals scored during that second unit's 14:01 of 5v5 ice time — a far cry from the barren offensive production previously found this year when Pastrnak was slotted further down the lineup.

"It's always nice to have a game like this," Krejci said. "Like you saw, we changed up the lines a little bit and it paid off. So just keep working at things we do well, keep improving things we don't do well and keep it rolling."

It was a win-win for all parties involved when it came to the reshuffling found on that second line — with Krejci (now up to nine points in his last seven games) getting arguably the top sniper in the entire NHL on his right at long last, while Pastrnak finally broke through on the scoreboard after a five-game goalless stretch. Nick Ritchie may not have the skill that Pastrnak's regular linemate in Marchand possesses, but the second-line LW's size and underrated touch around the net seemed to click with Pastrnak on Saturday, with both of Pastrnak's tallies (both at even strength) coming off of helpers from Ritchie.

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"I always like playing with Pasta," Krejci said. "He's such a gifted player and seems like he's always at the right spots, especially in the offensive zone and he makes things happen. So it's fun to play with a guy like that."

Of course, given Cassidy's tendency to reunite the 63-37-88 crew in moments of need, it remains to be seen just how long this reshuffling remains in place, especially if Boston manages to bring in outside help to solidify the middle-six with more scoring punch.

But for now,  if it ain't broke ...

"We definitely needed two points," Krejci said. "We're trying to build something here. We only have 20 or so games left before playoffs, and it seems like a lot, but it's not. You got to start creating the good habits, play the right way and keep winning games. It was a good, good step in the right direction. Let's keep it rolling and get ready for the next one."