Bruins: Pastrnak, Sweeney, Zacha, and Others Up 3 and Down
Originally published by Scott Roche on The Hockey Writers Updated on March 14, 24.
The Boston Bruins have had a hectic past several weeks. Boston made two small transactions before the 2024 trading deadline passed last Friday, March 8, while some Eastern Conference teams took different routes for the final six weeks leading up to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This week’s Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down will cover the trade deadline, the play of certain players, and more underwhelming outcomes on the ice.
Andrew's on board.
Welcome to Boston, @andrewpeeke20!#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/z1A9pA51ji
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 8, 2024
Additionally, Pavel Zacha
Pavel Zacha was going through one of those slumps that affect hockey players. For the Bruins, though, the former center for the New Jersey Devils bounced back quickly, recording five goals and three assists in his previous five games.
On March 4, he scored twice in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The next night, he scored the lone goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. March 9 against the Pittsburgh Penguins ended in a 5-1 victory with two goals from him. Because of his recent play, he was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week. He needs four more goals to tie the 21-goal career high he set the previous season.
Minus One: Another Blown Lead in the Third Period
Here’s the first of two examples of why, should they finish behind the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division and fail to win the division, the Bruins will only have themselves to blame. They have had trouble holding onto leads late in games, and they were less than two minutes away from winning in regulation against the Oilers when it all went wrong late in the third period.
Leon Draisaitl’s goal with 1:20 left in regulation tied the game at one, forcing overtime. Draisaitl’s game-winning goal 2:18 into overtime gave Edmonton the victory and the second point. The Black and Gold have lost 15 straight games in overtime or shootouts, which adds up over time.
Plus Two: Pat Maroon is traded for Don Sweeney
The Bruins have a reputation for not having an enforcer in the starting lineup. They lost to the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs the previous season, and Milan Lucic has been out with off-ice problems since the start of this one. Don Sweeney, the general manager (GM), added one player to his squad at the trade deadline.
Pat Maroon was obtained by Sweeney from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a draft pick and prospect Luke Toporowski. Fans of the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, where Maroon previously won a Stanley Cup, are aware of Maroon’s importance throughout the postseason. He had back surgery, so he is now out, but he should be back by playoff time, giving Boston the enforcer in the lineup that they have been missing.
Minus Two: Losing to a non-playoff team once more
The Bruins’ inability to win against playoff teams will be the second example if they don’t finish first. Following the All-Star Break, the team lost twice to the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames. On March 11, at the TD Garden, they lost 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues.
After using a strange bounce to set up the opening goal, St. Louis utilized two stick penalties on Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic of the Bruins to set up a two-man advantage goal, giving them a 2-0 lead in the first period. Before David Pastrnak broke the shutout, the Blues had a 4-0 lead. Still, 19-10-7 could be a better record versus clubs outside of the playoffs. They may be on pace for home-ice advantage in the playoffs with 91 points, but those are problems related to playing at their opponent’s level. They will have another opportunity to do better when they travel to Montreal on Thursday, March 14.
David Pastrnak Nets + Three One More Season of 40 Goals
Pastrnak will likely score more than 40 goals in another season. The Rocket Richard Award co-winner for 2019–20, along with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals with 48 points, scored his 40th goal of the season in the Bruins’ victory over the Penguins. This is the fourth time in the previous five years that he has accomplished that feat. He only failed to do it once, during the 56-game 2020–21 season that was cut short.
He will not succeed in his quest for a second consecutive season with 60 goals, but it will be intriguing to watch if, in the last month and a half of the campaign, he can score 50 goals for the second time in his career.
Minus Three: The Bruins’ Jakub Zboril Era Is Over
After taking over as general manager of the Bruins in 2015, Sweeney has three first-round picks in a row. Defenseman Jakub Zboril was the first pick he made, followed by Jake DeBrusk and Zach Senyshyn. Shenshyn is no longer with the team, and DeBrusk is in the last year of his deal with Boston. Zboril’s tenure inside the company concluded with the trading deadline.
Zboril was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Andrew Peek. Zboril had previously played for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). He has one goal and fifteen assists in 76 NHL games for the Black and Gold throughout his career. He was obviously in need of a change of scenery, so it’s unfortunate that his time in Boston didn’t work out because he was a reliable presence on defense.
Following their trip to Montreal, Boston will play three games at home against the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Rangers before heading off on yet another road trip. The Black and Gold should pick up four points from their games against the Senators and Canadiens, two clubs that will not make the playoffs. These games should be entertaining.
