Through two periods of play Tuesday night in St. Louis, the Bruins looked ready for what would’ve been their worst loss to date. Oh boy, has it been annoying to say that as many times as we have this season.
For two periods, the B’s details were off. That, through what’s been an up-and-down start, was nothing all that new. And in addition to the little things not being there, the Black and Gold’s power play was once again stumbling and fumbling, all while their penalty kill was once again failing to make the extra play or clear needed to stay out of danger, with two power-play goals surrendered in what’s shaped up to be a downright miserable shorthanded year for the usually-excellent Boston penalty killing units. Again, these are things that have almost constantly come to the table when the Bruins have lost games this season.
Third Star: Morgan Geekie
Nov 12, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) gives up a goal to Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) during the third period at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
A healthy scratch in three straight games, Morgan Geekie was given one hell of a rebound opportunity, with Tuesday coming with Geekie not only thrown back into the lineup, but back in the lineup and to the left of Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak on the B’s top line. And Geekie did not miss his chance to make that opportunity count, with a goal that ultimately sparked Boston’s third-period comeback against Jordan Binnington.
Speaking ahead of Monday’s flight out to St. Louis, Geekie acknowledged that he felt that a lot of what was bugging him (zero goals and two assists in 11 games this season) was more between the ears than anything physically.
This isn’t too dissimilar to his 2023-24, which saw him start slow before really picking things up in late November. But for better or worse, these Bruins aren’t built to deal with another prolonged Geekie dry spell after he emerged as a tremendous middle-six scoring threat for the club a year ago.
In addition to the goal, Geekie finished Tuesday’s win with two hits, a blocked shot, and a plus-2 rating.
Second Star: Charlie McAvoy
Nov 12, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) controls the puck as St. Louis Blues left wing Jake Neighbours (63) defends during the third period at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
The Bruins are a better team when Charlie McAvoy shoots the puck. It’s just a fact. And McAvoy gave us another example of that Tuesday, with the game-tying goal that forced the Blues to respect his shot later in the evening when he dished it off to David Pastrnak for the game-winning goal.
What was doubly important about McAvoy’s night is that it felt like his best hockey came after Hampus Lindholm was knocked out of the game with a lower-body injury. The Bruins had to lean on McAvoy, and lean on him hard (with over 25 minutes), and he delivered for the Black and Gold.
They’re gonna need more of that, too.
First Star: David Pastrnak
Nov 12, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) reacts after scoring the game winning goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
Here’s a ‘fun’ stat for you: Of the Bruins’ first six shots in this contest, all six came from David Pastrnak. But it wasn’t until Pastrnak’s final shot of the evening that Boston’s top offensive weapon finally broke through on Jordan Binnington for what captured the win for the Bruins in the third period of this contest.
You could almost see the relief on Pastrnak’s face once that goal crossed over the line and gave No. 88 his first goal since his strike in Boston’s Oct. 26 win over the Maple Leafs. But Pastrnak put his fingerprints all over this game, beginning with the takeaway-and-assist on Morgan Geekie’s third-period strike. And the Bruins downright dominated the puck whenever Pastrnak was out there.
I’ve said it dozens of times before and I’ll say it again: Pastrnak is perhaps the only Bruins player who has that legit ‘takeover’ ability on a nightly basis. His third period felt like that, and the offensively-challenged Bruins are going to need that every single night until the some of the other percentages around the lineup trend upwards.
