Erik Haula’s post-scratch turnaround offers glimmer of hope on B’s revamped bottom-6 group

In the midst of a Bruins season in which plenty that could have gone wrong — has gone wrong —  Thursday’s road victory over the Predators represented a breath of fresh air. 

After relinquishing four goals in two of his previous three starts, Jeremy Swayman submitted his cleanest outing of the still-young season — posting his third career clean sheet by way of a 42-save effort.

Brandon Carlo — unfortunately a familiar culprit when it comes to Boston’s mixed results on its second D pair — put together a stout showing on the blue line down in Nashville, logging 22:31 of ice time and routinely negating Grade-A chances with a few timely checks and blocks. His second-period tally was more just icing on the cake. 

And even Boston’s most pressing strife was able to relish in a few silver linings on Thursday — with Jake DeBrusk elevating his value on the trade market by way of a short-side snipe on the power play.

And while his play may not steal headlines quite like Swayman’s shutout or cultivate sound bites like DeBrusk’s resurgent outing, the Bruins have to be thrilled with the steps that Erik Haula has taken for his new club since getting scratched over the weekend.

Granted, when Boston’s lineup is back to full strength, Haula will not be slotted up to a top-six spot with Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith. But the 30-year-old veteran made the most of his opportunity against his former club — recording a primary helper and attempting six shots on goal, two of which rang off the post and crossbar.

It was another positive sign for Haula — who posted an 80 percent shot share at 5v5 play on a cobbled-together checking unit with DeBrusk and Curtis Lazar during Tuesday's loss to Detroit. 

“We talked about him a little bit last game as far as competing on pucks and using his skating ability,” interim head coach Joe Sacco said. “And he's starting to do that. So I think it's a good step in the right direction for Erik.”

Haula — who signed a two-year contract with Boston ($2.375 million) on the first day of free agency this summer — was expected to inject speed and some scoring touch on a third line that was largely rudderless last season with a hampered Coyle. With Coyle bumped up to the top-six unit, Haula served as steady insurance, with his fast-paced play serving as a potentially potent pairing with a fellow speedster in DeBrusk.

But after a standout preseason in which it seemed like Boston’s revamped lineup was falling into place, Haula pried loose the wrong Jenga piece once the regular season commenced.

It took 12 games for Haula to record his first goal of the season. Despite a few high-danger looks, he couldn’t connect with DeBrusk or any of the other carousel of wingers slotted to his left or right.

Soon enough, it was a demotion down to the fourth line.

And then, after the Rangers diced up Swayman twice on Friday when Haula was offering faulty D-zone coverage, Haula was propped up on the ninth floor for Sunday’s win over the Canucks.

(When it comes to factoring in WAR — Haula hasn't necessarily separated himself from the pack in any area of the game over the last few seasons.)

The nine-year NHL veteran sure seemed to get the memo.

"I kind of had a stretch there where I wasn't happy with my game myself. I didn't really recognize the player that was out there," Haula said. "Probably was good to sit a game, reset a little bit and now work to get back to my game which was more of last night, skating, more confident on the puck, harder. That was my emphasis and I thought it was a good step towards the right direction."

Haula put his candid sentiments into results on the ice, headlined by his effective outing at Bridgestone Arena. 

His two **PINGS** off the post and crossbar represent the most disheartening result of a Grade-A chance with little in terms of reward. 

But Haula also did the little things to contribute to DeBrusk’s power-play tally — planting himself near the slot and screening Juuse Saros enough to give DeBrusk the window he needed to uncork his snipe. 

With DeBrusk’s days in a B’s sweater coming to an end, the Bruins are poised to roll out an awfully different crew in the following days/weeks/months — especially with their bottom-six personnel.

Regardless of what a potential return might be in a DeBrusk swap, the onus will fall on the regulars still entrenched in this lineup to pick up the scoring promise that DeBrusk regularly teased when out on the ice.  

Given his track record, the Bruins aren’t expecting Haula to suddenly orchestrate a similar campaign as his debut season with Vegas (29 goals, 55 points in 76 games). But as showcased during Thursday’s outing, Haula has plenty more to give than what he provided through his first month in a B’s sweater.

And given Boston’s rapidly shifting roster — it’s going to need all of the help it can get. 

"I feel like I've been in the league long enough, feel like I've seen all the situations there are," Haula said. "Yes, I think it was warranted in a sense, where I wasn't where I needed to be. I wasn't playing the way the team needs me to play. So, in a sense, I took it as let's reset and start over and find my game again and make it looks like it's supposed to."