Good hockey teams and good hockey players respond when things aren’t going well.
It remains to be seen if the Boston Bruins are the kind of hockey team that can respond after a single one-game event that isn’t what they’re looking for, or if it’s going to take them a couple of games as it did at the start of their current road trip after ugly losses in Winnipeg and Seattle at the start of the western road odyssey.
Or if they can even eliminate altogether the kind of hiccups we’ve seen this season in rough losses to Carolina, Dallas and Winnipeg.
But for now the Bruins will take an impressive, noticeable response in beating the Vancouver Canucks convincingly, 5-1, at their Rogers Arena home to halt the road losing streak at two games.
“[We] definitely needed a response,” admitted Brad Marchand, who scored a goal and had a game-high seven shots on net in the bounce-back win. “That's what good teams do.”
Nobody responded more than David Pastrnak, who went from an undeniable goat in the Seattle loss to a stud with a four-point effort against Vancouver including helpers on each of Boston’s first three scores. It was a far cry from the careless high-sticking penalty that Pastrnak took on Thursday night against the Kraken that helped put the B’s in a two-goal hole, and has been part of a very erratic season for No. 88 where his mistakes have often outweighed the dynamic offensive plays.
“It was obviously a big bounce-back game for us, coming after two tough losses,” said Pastrnak, who is on pace for 28 goals and 82 points this season in a definite downshift in the goal-scoring category thus far. “We were making sure that we do whatever it takes to get a W and don't lose three in a row. We sacrificed today, we blocked a lot of shots, and we were able to score some goals.”
The bottom line was that Boston’s best players (Pastrnak, Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha) all came to play, and the result ended up being a good one for a Bruins team that’s 8-4-0 in 12 since Joe Sacco took over for Jim Montgomery, and they were able to collect a win against playoff-level competition in the Canucks. It was a solidly good sign that the Bruins were able to cease the downward spiral after just a couple of games, but it will be an even better one if they can avoid those kind of extended pitfalls in the first place as defensive grit, small details and a continuous work ethic are going to have to be consistent traits for a Bruins team still hoping to be a playoff power.
ONE TIMERS
*It remains to be seen whether a change of scenery can help 24-year-old Oliver Wahlstrom reach his highest potential with the Bruins after being acquired on waivers from the New York Islanders this weekend. The former 2018 first-round pick has just two goals scored in each of the last two seasons while shuttling in and out of the lineup for the islanders and has never done better than 13 goals and 24 points as a pro after netting that for the Isles back in 2021-22.
But he’s also been getting around 10 minutes of ice time when he has been in the lineup for the Islanders, and definitely isn’t getting top-6 forward looks at this point that probably best fit his overall skill set.
“If [Wahlstrom] is going to be a guy that can help us offensively, he’s going to have to be put in a role where he has an opportunity,” said Sacco. “Maybe that’s somewhere up in the lineup, we’ll see. Could be the third line with (Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic). I just don’t know yet. And then maybe one of the power play (units). I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself here, but certainly when you pick up a player like that, you want to give him the best opportunity to succeed when he joins us.”
Certainly he's on the radar of Bruins fans since his highlight reel lacrosse-style goal during the Mini 1-on-1 youth hockey competition put on annually by the Black and Gold and Mass Hockey.
Former Mini 1-on-1 star and Maine native Oliver Wahlstrom picked up on waivers by the Bruins. Former first round pick of the Islanders. Love to see it pic.twitter.com/2VwA0wT6VX
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 14, 2024
Needless to say, he’ll get that, at least to start, with the Bruins and it will be up to the Maine native to carve out a niche for himself like never happened in New York.
“I’ve talked to him already. He’s excited. We’re excited to have him,” said Marchand to reporters in Vancouver after Saturday night’s victory. “He’s a really good player. I’ve always really liked his game. Think he’ll fit the team well. I Just let him know how excited we are to have him here and be part of the group. He should be a great addition. He’s a great shooter [with a] very, very dangerous shot.”
*The whispers around a potential trade availability for Trent Frederic continue as his name was once again mentioned by Hockey Night in Canada host Elliotte Friedman during Saturday night’s national broadcast in Canada. The 26-year-old is in the last year of his contract with the Bruins and has five goals and 11 points in 32 games along with a rough minus-13 after a very sluggish start to the season.
There is obviously value to a power forward-type that plays with an edge like Frederic, who stands as probably the most valuable trade chip that the Black and Gold have if they decided to shake things up with their roster. It would also be a clear admission that they aren’t going to be signing him to a long-term deal where power forward-types with offensive upside can command quite a bit on the open market.
HNIC Saturday Headlines: Rangers are open for business, “They are willing to consider all options.” There is a lot of interest Trent Frederic. VAN looking at all options on Desharnais. Brandon Saad is available. #NYR #NHLBruins #Canucks #stlblues #NHL pic.twitter.com/zVXSv5O4PL
— NHL Trade Alert (@NHLTradeAlert) December 15, 2024
"I've been around long enough to know that what's true today may not be true tomorrow when it comes to contract negotiations, so I'm not going to handicap it, but the Bruins are definitely getting a lot of calls (on Frederic)," Friedman said. "'What are you thinking here? Will you keep him? Will he be available?' He's a guy who's definitely got a lot of interest."
That’s because viable power forwards willing to drop the gloves are like unicorns in today’s NHL, but that also makes one wonder why Bruins management doesn’t seem to be in a major hurry to sign him. Or maybe it’s Frederic that has designs on going somewhere else next season in free agency just as Jake DeBrusk pretty clearly did before eventually moving on to Vancouver on a long-term contract.
