Ames: Bertuzzi's playmaking abilities has revived Bruins' third line

The Bruins acquired Tyler Bertuzzi after a pair of injuries to Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno sprung up suddenly in late February.

General manager Don Sweeney wanted to add some scoring punch to an already potent lineup with Hall and Foligno out for a significant time. A 30-goal scorer a season ago with the Red Wings, Bertuzzi has yet to find the back of the net with the B's, but the 28-year-old has showcased his ability to make his linemates around him better.

The 6-foot-1, 186-pounder notched an assist in the Bruins' 3-0 win over the Jets for his third point as a Bruin on Thursday. Boston's third line of Bertuzzi, Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic has been one of its most consistent lines of late and Bertuzzi's play has pushed the trio over the top.

During his first game against the Rangers on March 5, Bertuzzi recorded his first assist with a slick net-front pass to Coyle. The goal put the Bruins out front 1-0, on their way to a 4-2 victory.

Bertuzzi was briefly moved up to the second line for a pair of games against the Red Wings, but didn't quite find the same chemistry with David Krejci and David Pastrnak. 

Against the Blackhawks on Tuesday, Bertuzzi went back to the third line and found the scoresheet once again with a primary assist on Frederic's second-period goal.

Bertuzzi won a puck battle against a bigger defenseman in Seth Jones and quickly centered the puck to Frederic, who swept it in to tie the game. 

The 2013 second-round pick nearly potted his first goal later that game, but the puck caught iron twice before bouncing back out. The no-goal wound up sinking the Bruins in their 6-3 loss to the lowly Blackhawks.

Then Thursday against the Jets, Bertuzzi shined once again below the attacking goal line, with another net-front pass to Frederic. This pass came less than a minute into the game and set the tone during a game the B's needed a fast start.

Bertuzzi is very good at reading the play offensively and already has a good sense of where his new linemates will be before he even gets the puck.

The Bruins ultimately brought in Bertuzzi to score goals, and he'll eventually get some, but his underrated passing skills are just as valuable to a B's team that gets goals all around their lineup.

If Hall and/or Foligno return to the lineup, the third line would probably look something like Bertuzzi-Coyle-Hall with Frederic moved down to the fourth line with Foligno and Tomas Nosek.

Now that easily could change given the timeline on Hall and Foligno's injuries, but so far through six games, Bertuzzi has looked right at home in Boston while still searching for his first tuck.