Morgan Geekie has really been a bellwether for the way things have been going for the Black and Gold this season.
When the rugged 26-year-old really struggled out of the gate (1 assist and a minus-5 in nine games during the month of October) to start the season, it coincided with the Bruins playing terrible hockey in the first 20 games of the year. It happened as the B’s essentially handed him a top-6 role coming off a career-best offensive season last year, so the timing was bad for both the hockey club and the player personally.
But then Geekie started to come out of it in November amidst the head coaching change for the B’s and has been red-hot in December with five goals and eight points in 10 games, including the game-winning power-play snipe in Boston’s 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on Saturday night.
To his coaches, it’s been as simple as the 6-foot-3, 208-pounder getting back to basics driving the net and then getting into good positions to finish off plays with his dangerous shot. Geekie smoked the one-timer pass from Pastrnak for the game-winning goal and had actually beaten James Reimer with a filthy wrister earlier in the period that was ultimately taken off the board when the play was challenged for being offside.
Morgan Geekie with a BOMB to put the Bruins up late! 💣 pic.twitter.com/pH3y0YMuyk
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 22, 2024
As Nikita Zadorov said after the win, “the hockey gods were with Geek’s tonight” as he pushed through the overturned goal for another crack at the game-winner.
“I think [Geekie] is obviously playing on a good line with two very good offensive players, but he's finding his niche out there right now,” said Joe Sacco of Geekie. “He's finding some open ice, because he can shoot, and he's getting to the net-front, which I think is very important for that line.
“I know he scored from outside here tonight at the end of the power play, but more often in the offensive zone, that line needs someone to drive to the front of the net, and he's been doing a much better job of that for them, opening up space for the other two guys on the outside.”
The offensive surge in December has put Geekie much closer to last season’s statistics as he’s on pace for 16 goals and 30 points while fulfilling the expectation he could fill a top-6 role for the Bruins this season. Now it’s a question of Geekie riding out the hot streak and continuing to compliment guys like David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha that play extremely well together as a Czech tandem.
So what turned things around in Geekie’s mind?
“Just kind of knowing the kind of player I can be,” said Geekie. “It's one of those things where I felt like not a lot of things kind of went the team's way [or] my way. Yeah, I don't really know if I have a good answer for you.
“A lot of internal belief, I think, is a big one. The guys in the room were great through everything. [It] kind of speaks to the leadership group we have. I never felt on the outside looking in. Just one of those things where I tried to stay on the gas and get better every day.”
Guys like Geekie and Charlie Coyle who struggled early have found that midseason gear at a point in the season where the Bruins could use the extra offense. And it’s making a tangible difference for a Black and Gold group that could use every goal they can get.
ONE-TIMERS
*The jury is definitely still out on Oliver Wahlstrom after a couple of games in the Bruins lineup, but the early returns have been promising. Wahlstrom was in the middle of a few scoring chances in his first game in a Bruins uniform and on Saturday night drew a massive tripping penalty call in the game's final minutes that led to the game-winning power play goal for the Black and Gold.
The third line of Wahlstrom and Justin Brazeau centered by Trent Frederic struggled a little bit for most of the win over Buffalo, but again Wahlstrom finished under 10 minutes of ice time as he doesn’t kill penalties and is a bit stuck behind Pastrnak taking up most of the two minutes in every PP possession.
“I thought he played well in the first game. Tonight, I’m going to have to look at it again, but I thought he was fine,” said Sacco. “He didn’t a ton of PP time because when we’re on the power play we have a guy [in Pastrnak] that stays out there a little more, and then tough times on the penalty kill because his ice time gets cut a little bit. So we’re going to try to find a way to utilize him a little more, but he’s still getting adjusted to a new team and getting acclimated, and it’s going to take him a little bit.”
Truthfully, this humble hockey writer likes what he’s seen out of Wahlstrom in all three zones since he arrived. He’s shown a tiny bit of physicality, is good enough defensively and is dangerous with the puck in the offensive when he gets a little time and space. The big question is going to be whether or not he has the skating speed to consistently create that time and space and keep pace at the NHL level, but he’ll get the opportunity to answer that question with his play.
*At a certain point, it’s going to be impossible to deny Matt Poitras. In one stretch he had goals in seven consecutive AHL games with the P-Bruins and is sporting seven goals and 16 points in 17 games while a plus-6 playing big minutes in all situations. The 20-year-old is dominating the AHL and showing that he truly is an NHL player with the way he’s performing, but this was also, now in hindsight, absolutely the right developmental call with the player to get him back to his full mojo as a creative, dynamic offensive force capable of making an impact offensively at the NHL level.
Matt Poitras, 7 goals, 7 games pic.twitter.com/SgLGLNLrat
— Dominic Tiano (@dominictiano) December 19, 2024
It will be interesting to see what he looks like back in the NHL with a little more swagger back in his game, and it appears that the Bruins are already moving things around in anticipation of his return to the team. Coyle moved up to the wing with Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm for Saturday night’s win over the Sabres and scored his 8th goal of the season while that trio looked pretty comfortable together as a true top-6 line with established, veteran talent across the board.
Trent Frederic centered the third line for Saturday night’s game, but it is pretty easy to envision Poitras centering that group if/when he returns to the AHL with upped confidence and a determination to stick around in the NHL for good the next time around. It’s not unlike some of Mason Lohrei’s stints in the AHL last season that led to him being a very effective player for the Black and Gold in the second half of last season.