Zolak & Bertrand: Do you trust this coaching staff with a young QB?

On Friday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, the crew discussed whether you can trust this coaching staff with a young QB.

Marc Bertrand: You know what I'm more afraid of than the lack of a left tackle and the lack of receivers for the young quarterback? The coaching. That to me might be the biggest and easiest thing to point to. Do you trust the current coaching staff and that goes all the way to the top. Jerod Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, (Ben) McAdoo, (T.C.) McCartney. Do you trust those guys to take a quarterback who needs development? Drake Maye is the guy we're talking about today, and whether they can do the job, because that's not an easy job even for experienced head coaches and experienced offensive coordinators.

Scott Zolak: There's a bunch of stuff here to talk about. You know, McAdoo as far as doing the homework. He's got former head coach experience. Now I know, so did Joe Judge, I get that, especially at the same place. But the guy was in on (Patrick) Mahomes. He did the studying prior to the draft and wanted Mahomes. They said no.

Marc Bertrand: Who was the second quarterback taken in the draft and was a top ten pick.

Scott Zolak: I get that.

Marc Bertrand: It wasn't like they took him in the third round.

Scott Zolak: To your other point here, so lack of experience, but Zach Robinson didn't have much experience. Say they hand picked Zach Robinson and he was going to be their number one candidate and they got him and they signed him day one. You probably feel different about it right now. Everybody said yes. Get that quarterback. Get him with this West Coast guru, this Sean McVay guy and let's get him going Day one.

Marc Bertrand: I agree with you.

Scott Zolak: I may to. There's a lot of things in play here. It's a lot of things that need to come together. I don't know what the scheme is. I don't. I don't know what scheme is. I've reached out and I've talked to some people there aren't sure yet. But I keep getting the answer that the (Tom) Brady offense was extremely complicated. Understand that.

The Boston Bruins are 4-1-0 since the trade deadline, but have yet to get a potential preview of a playoff matchup or playoff-caliber opponent; that changes Thursday night, when the Bruins take on the New York Rangers at TD Garden.

Head coach Jim Montgomery has made a number of tweaks to the Bruins' lineup in recent days, partially out of necessity, but also because that's classic Montgomery. The man can't help himself. But in the case of the past two games, he may have found a few interesting combinations that work for the team.

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The Bruins' new-look lineup was a big part of the discussion on the latest Sports Hub Underground podcast with me and Ty Anderson, which you can listen to in the above player. New additions, whether via trade, free agency, or the minors, have reshaped the team on the margins.

So far, the result is a team that's better than the sum of its parts, even more so than in the previous calendar year.

Jim Montgomery confirmed after morning skate Thursday that the Bruins' lineup will remain the same against the Rangers. So, let the test begin.

Here's a closer look at the recent changes, as the Bruins get ready for the Rangers...

Danton Heinen, the ultimate Swiss Army knife, slotted into the Bruins' second line alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. There's little reason to break that line up after their last game together.

The line produced the Bruins' best shot attempt rate (62.5%) at 5-on-5 against Ottawa, via Natural Stat Trick. Heinen had the fourth-best on-ice shot attempt rate on the team at five-on-five, as well (56.3%).

Playing with Pastrnak will certainly help, as it did Tuesday night. But Heinen continues to prove that, while he won't make a massive impact by himself, he can meld with just about any forward combination on the team.

Heinen assisted on the third of Pastrnak's three goals on Tuesday night, so the move certainly paid off for Montgomery for one night. Against the Rangers' solid depth of two-way forwards, it'll be interesting to see how effective the Heinen-Zacha-Pastrnak trio can be at the offensive end.

In the bottom-six, James van Riemsdyk has been squeezed out of the lineup, but it remains to be seen if that really costs the team. That's because newcomer Justin Brazeau is producing at beyond an acceptable rate as a fourth-line right wing. Brazeau potted two goals on Tuesday night, showing strong hands around the net-front in the process.

The most recent fourth line of Johnny Beecher, Jesper Boqvist, and Brazeau has shown chemistry and versatility. Beecher has brought some much-needed faceoff effectiveness to the table (70.6% win rate in the last three games), while Boqvist and Brazeau combined for three goals on Tuesday.

Brazeau is projected to be on the Bruins' second power play unit Thursday night. That could be the area where he'll need to continue providing value in order to keep supplanting van Riemsdyk for that net-front role.

It's been an impressive first three games for Andrew Peeke on the Bruins' blue line, especially considering how much the region seemed to hate the trade. For now, can we stop worrying about a goddamn third-round pick in goddamn 2027 (will the sun NOT eat us alive by then?), and focus on the here & now?

In the here & now, Peeke looks capable of solidifying himself as the Bruins' third right defenseman. In the span of Peeke's first three games with the Bruins from March 14-19, here's where he ranked among defensemen with at least 40 minutes of ice time at five-on-five...

- 7th in unblocked shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes (31.2)
- 12th in shots against per 60 (22.1)
- 11th in blocked shots per 60 (7.98)

Peeke looks like what he promised to be, even coming out of a bad situation in Columbus where he struggled to crack the lineup. He's Derek Forbort with better skating ability. And you'd be hard-pressed to find an offensive play by Forbort like the one Peeke made on Beecher's recent goal against the Flyers (see above).

The Bruins are sticking with Peeke and Kevin Shattenkirk to his left on Thursday night against the Rangers. They'll have a stiffer test in defending against a much deeper forward group in New York, and it'll be a challenge for Shattenkirk to log three assists again.

But so far, so good for a maligned-but-still-has-untapped-potential player in Peeke.

Despite all the changes at forward and defense, the biggest test will come in goal. Jeremy Swayman is set to start Thursday night against the Rangers, and it comes at a time that the goaltender will look to rebound from a rough couple of outings.

Swayman is 1-1 in his last two starts with an .820 save percentage, barely holding on for a win over the Flyers last time out. In the two starts prior to that, Swayman ripped off a .968 in a 2-0 burst over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before THAT, Swayman allowed at least three goals in five straight starts.

MORE: Bruins top Senators behind Pastrnak hat trick, Ullmark's 30 saves

He was stronger in his last game against the Rangers on Dec. 16, in which he stopped 32-of-34 (.941) en route to an overtime loss. But consistency is the question for Swayman, who is 11-5-4 with a .908 save percentage so far in 2024.

If he wants the net in the playoffs, he'll need to prove he can elevate against a strong opponent, and one they could feasibly end up seeing in the summer.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.