The Bruins are officially in the ‘Get To The Playoffs Already’ portion of the schedule.
And Tuesday night at TD Garden may very well come with the club’s last pre-playoff test, with a head-to-head with the Hurricanes on deck. Now, the Bruins already passed the more important of the two tests with a road win over Carolina (and at the end of a road trip full of playoff-quality opponents), so perhaps Tuesday night at the Garden isn’t as sexy as last week in Raleigh.
But for the Bruins, the internal battles will rage on, as Jim Montgomery’s club still has a ton of uncertainty — at least as uncertainty among potential division winners goes — with roles and opportunities aplenty for his roster.
Morgan Geekie
Dec 19, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) during the third period against the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
From a pure role and usage standpoint, Morgan Geekie has done just about everything the Bruins have asked out of him this year. Geekie has rewarded the Bruins by playing the absolute best hockey of his career, and has put forth a season that’s included career-highs in goals (16), assists (22), and points (38), along with career-highs in hits (127) and blocks (47).
And right now, Geekie has one hell of a golden opportunity, as he’s skated the last two games in a top-six role as the right wing on a line with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle, and will continue to do so on Tuesday night.
“He’s been really physical since he’s been up there,” Montgomery said of Geekie. “He moves the puck well, makes really good wall plays, bumping it up underneath to either Coyle or Marchand slashing. They just seem to have good chemistry.”
Geekie had a beauty of an assist on Brad Marchand’s goal in last week’s win over the Hurricanes, and recorded three hits in last Saturday’s barroom brawl-style game against the Panthers.
That right wing spot next to the Marchand-Coyle remains an open competition, but if Geekie can continue to be a space-clearing forward, win his battles, and build on that chemistry, you’d have to think he’s the in-house favorite.
Parker Wotherspoon
Feb 22, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (29) passes the puck against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. (Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports)
One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2023-24 season, Parker Wotherspoon has put himself in what you’d have to consider strong position for being part of Boston’s Game 1 lineup.
Dependable in all three zones, Wotherspoon has really emerged as the Black and Gold’s left-side nasty, and was deployed in that kind of role against the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett combo last Saturday, and held his own. (Not only that, but the Bruins purposely did that, and lauded the way that Wotherspoon and Peeke were in their face all game.) If the Bruins are going to play as gritty as Montgomery wants, guys like Wotherspoon (78 hits and 65 blocks in just 38 games this season) are going to be immensely valuable to his backend.
Wotherspoon has also developed some notable chemistry with deadline addition Andrew Peeke.
Together for 54 minutes of five-on-five play over six games, the Wotherspoon-Peeke pairing has been on the ice for a 24-16 shot differential, 15-4 edge in high-danger scoring chances for and against, and a 3-0 edge in goals. All while beginning the majority of their shifts in the defensive zone, too. It’s been one of Boston’s most effective defensive pairings since the deadline passed, and it’s undoubtedly been the best pairing featuring Peeke, who figures to be a lineup fixture.
Another strong outing and Wotherspoon may elevate his status to Game 1 lock.
James van Riemsdyk
TAMPA, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 20: James van Riemsdyk #21 of the Boston Bruins looks to pass in the first period during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on November 20, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
It’s been a tough month plus for Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk.
In addition to a notable second-half cooldown, van Riemsdyk dealt with a sickness that left him winded and going through some rather significant (for this time of year) weight loss. It led to an in-and-out lineup presence, but with Justin Brazeau on the shelf (and not close to a return), the 34-year-old van Riemsdyk has been given a late-season chance to plant his skates in the ice and grab a hold of a lineup spot for this club.
And while the Bruins are deploying ‘JVR’ in a fourth-line role, he is still logging regular minutes on the power play, which absolutely needs to get going for Boston. Mired in a slump that’s seen them post the league’s 10th-worst power-play percentage (18.8 percent) since the start of March, it’s van Riemsdyk’s net-front touch that could give this man advantage a big boost if he begins feeling his game again like he did in the first half of the season.
What’s interesting here is that the return of Pat Maroon is around the corner for the Bruins, and Maroon could represent a challenge to van Riemsdyk’s minutes, meaning it’s officially go time for the veteran wing.
Jeremy Swayman
Mar 30, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) and center Jakub Lauko (94) celebrate after defeating the Washington Capitals in a shootout at Capital One Arena. (Hannah Foslien/USA TODAY Sports)
If you were asking me today who gets the net in Game 1 for the Bruins, I’m going Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark has been one of the best goalies in hockey for almost two months now, and he’s been especially strong since the trade deadline drama, with a 5-2-0 record and .947 save percentage in seven outings since the deadline passed.
But there’s no denying that Jeremy Swayman has made some noticeably strong strides of late, with a three-game win streak and a 28-of-29 showing against Carolina in his last outing. That win over the ‘Canes featured some of that Swayman sharpness that’s been a bit hit-or-miss of late, with the 25-year-old stepping up with multiple big saves to keep the pesky ‘Canes at bay or give the Bruins a much-needed breather. Think about it this way: It took Swayman being bumped, and trying to make a save from his ass, for the Hurricanes to even get on the board in that outing.
At the end of the day, I still believe that the Bruins are going to use both goaltenders in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Bruins will feel infinitely better about committing to that if Swayman continues his recent surge.
