Bobby Mushkin, Reporter
@bmushkincourant
On Sunday, April 10, the Bruins organization had a lot on their minds. Coming off of a 3-2 loss against the Flyers- who are chasing them down for the fourth and final playoff spot- the Bruins are engaged in a tight playoff race. The trade deadline was less than 24 hours away, and the pressure is on General Manager Don Sweeney to make the appropriate moves to propel the Bruins back into their contending form. But those distractions couldn’t hinder the Bruins mentality as they faced off against their rivals and East Division leaders, the Washington Capitals. The Bruins are desomated with injury, with their top four defenseman and top two goalies all out. Right from the opening faceoff, the Bruins were outmatched in all areas of the ice. When it was all said and done, the Bruins lost 8-1, leaving a real bad taste in their mouths.
But losing that game against Washington was a blessing in disguise. Don Sweeney got aggressive, and pulled off two impactful trades within two hours of the Bruins’ embarrassing defeat. The first trade was with the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins exchanged a 2022 3rd round draft pick for defenseman Mike Reilly. Reilly, a former Hobey Baker finalist, was one of the few bright spots on the Sens this season. He was producing career point totals, and had taken his defensive game to a new level. Given the Bruins injuries and the loss of Torey Krug, Reilly’s elite puck moving abilities make him a perfect fit for the Bruins. If not for the trade that was pulled off just an hour later, the Mike Reilly acquisition would’ve gotten more attention.
Just minutes before the clock struck midnight, Don Sweeney pulled off his best deal as general manager. The Bruins sent Anders Bjork and a 2021 2nd round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres. In return, the Bruins got former MVP Taylor Hall, as well as Curtis Lazar. Hall’s first season with the Sabres was a complete nightmare. Buffalo was the worst team in the league and sustained a record long losing streak. Hall was named the NHL MVP just three years ago, but with injuries and poor teams, his production had slowed. Hall had just 2 goals in 37 games, and was on an expiring deal. That deflated his value quite a bit, but even so the Bruins will walk away like gangbusters here. The underrated part of this deal was acquiring Lazar, a former first round selection. He has shown toughness and a nice scoring touch for a bottom six forward. With the Bruins welcoming their new teammates, the 8-1 loss was forgotten, and a new page was turned.
It’s been a week since the trade deadline, and don’t look now, but the revamped Bruins are 4-0 since their big moves. Boston started the week against the Sabres, winning 3-2 in a shootout. Thursday and Friday saw back-to-back games against the New York Islanders, the team that had beaten the Bruins six games in a row. But the Bruins won both games. And as fate would have it, exactly a week after their 8-1 loss, the Bruins played those same Capitals in a Sunday matinee game on NBC. This game felt like a playoff matchup from the start, with hard hitting and lots of skill. The Capitals made things tough on Boston, but when the game was finished, the Bruins walked away with a 6-3 win.
Don Sweeney believes in his team. He knows the door has not shut on the Bruins championship aspirations. But what he also knew going into the deadline was that the Bruins team that was assembled for this season had three holes that needed to be filled in order to truly compete. The first hole was their lackluster fourth line. A common denominator in every successful Bruins team in recent history was a great fourth line. That didn’t always mean scoring, but having a role and executing it. This season has been sore for the fourth line, and that’s because they have no identity and players are coming in and out of the lineup. Since Curtis Lazar stepped into that fourth line center role, however, the Bruins fourth line dominance has returned. Lazar has one goal so far, but their dominance hasn’t been on the scoreboard. They get pucks deep behind the net, they forecheck hard, win tough battles along the boards, and gain momentum by sustaining lots of zone time. This newfound fourth line is severely undervalued, and if the Bruins can maintain it, it will be a great weapon come playoff time.
Their second missing piece was something I mentioned briefly earlier. In the offseason, the Bruins defensive core was hit by the youth movement. Boston controversially let their most talented defenseman and powerplay captain Torey Krug walk away. 14-year captain Zdeno Chara also moved on, signing with the Washington Capitals. The Bruins were trying to save money and incorporate their young, high draft picks. These decisions were not well received, as the depth on defense was weak and fans lost two Bruins icons. And this season, the Bruins defense has been absolutely smashed with injury, testing depth that they didn’t really have. Additionally, the powerplay had taken big steps backward without Krug manning the point. Getting Mike Reilly from Ottawa helped both the depth and the powerplay. Once Brandon Carlo, Matt Grezlyk, and Kevan Miller can return, the Bruins defense will be scary.
And perhaps the biggest roadblock from success for the Bruins in the last seven years has been the lack of secondary scoring due to a missing piece on the second line. David Krejci has been a staple of the Bruins since 2005. But since the Bruins 2011 Cup winning season, he hasn’t been surrounded with good enough talent. Boston’s scoring depth has been minimal, and the second line has been unproductive. Sweeney has tried to make moves to fix it, but none of them have panned out. But Taylor Hall is different. He’s a game changing player. He wants to be in Boston, and he fits perfectly on Krejci’s left. Hall already has the same goal total in four games with Boston as he did in 37 games with Buffalo. The whole line has been elevated, with Krejci and Craig Smith scoring every game, and all four lines for the Bruins are threats now.
The season is dwindling down to its finale, and the Bruins appear to be finding their stride. If Boston can stay healthy and maintain this level of play, nobody will want to play them in the playoffs.
