Bruins Relying on Leadership, Depth Entering Playoffs

“I’m equally excited because they were brought in here for that reason,” Sweeney said about the 2024 free agent additions. “They chose to come to Boston because we had been a very competitive team that was expected to be in playoff mode.”

Lindholm skated on a line with Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie at practice on Thursday. They played together at the beginning of the season, then again toward the end. Geekie led the team with 39 goals, and Pastrnak led the team with 100 points. However, the line has a -3 goal differential, which highlights the need for production throughout the lineup.

“Well, as a line, they’ve had some variance,” Sweeney said about the first line. “When they’re playing their best hockey, they’re our top line. They get a little off the rails, and Marco puts a couple of younger players in there to change how that line looks, and then you can drop, in that case, Elias and Geeks [Morgan Geekie] down, and they can play in any matchup.”

“Right now, they’ll start together, and we’ll see how it goes. But Marco feels comfortable to be able to move people around. But all three of them are such an important part of what we’re going to try to accomplish here in the next week.”

One line that has stayed consistent is the second line, which has been a motor all season. They finished the regular season with a +19 goal differential, only second in the league to Colorado’s first line (Artturi Lehkonen–Nathan MacKinnon–Martin Necas).

And Casey Mittelstadt rejoined the line on Thursday after missing Tuesday’s game. Both he and Pavel Zacha welcomed children on Tuesday night.

Zacha finished with 30 goals, a career high. He scored 13 in March and was named the second star of the month.

“I think Pav [Pavel Zacha] would tell you honestly that most of the people inside the organization would say, ‘we believe you’re capable of scoring 30 goals in this league,’ the way he can shoot a puck,” Sweeney said on Thursday. “If he was a little more selfish in some situations, he does want to pass pucks and please other linemates, but he’s a hell of a player, and on both sides of the puck.”

“He was very disappointed not being able to go to the Olympics. But to Pav’s credit, he really used that time to get healthy. His energy and production coming out of the Olympics was massive for our group, because there were other guys that weren’t.”

Viktor Arvidsson was an offseason pickup, and he scored 25 goals for the first time since 2022-23. He only cost the Bruins a fifth-round pick, and he made that pick well worth the investment. He slotted on the right wing, while Casey Mittelstadt found a home on the left side.

“We got asked early on, what’s Viktor going to bring to the table. The competitiveness, if he’s healthy, which is a testament to him, and again, our medical staff of doing a good job to keep him healthy, but the interior plays, familiarity with Marco,” Sweeney added. “Can’t look past Casey in the year that he’s had. He had a dangerous injury in the course of the year, and he’s adapted to playing the wing, complemented that line, has been a massive boost, injection for our club on both sides of it.”

It is not just veterans driving the bus for the Bruins.

Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten, both trade deadline acquisitions in 2025, have plugged into the top line to play alongside Pastrnak, while James Hagens will enter the postseason just three games into his NHL career.

“Obviously, the staff identifying that in Khuzy’s [Marat Khusnutdinov] case, he was capable of more, and then, Khuzy’s taken advantage of it. It’s a testament to the work they all did, including the player, and the coaches believe in him. Fraser was a certainly identifiable player for us that was going to be important moving forward. We’re always wondering, okay, what is his ceiling? And thankfully, we don’t know that, because he’s going to get better and embrace it, but we did believe in the attributes that he brought to the table as a young pro.”

In the summer, Marco Sturm was considering playing Minten in Providence. He played all 82 games and was named the 7th Player Award winner on Tuesday.

Sweeney also credited the Bruins’ development staff for their work with Hagens. Without them, he is not where he is today, as the coaches provided Hagens a runway to improve his game before joining the NHL.

“I’ll go back down the people deserving credit, our development staff spent a lot of time at BC this year,” said Sweeney. “Obviously, we had a lot of players there, but we were working in conjunction with their staff, and that communication started early on, and then really, really laid it on after the World Juniors to say, if you’re honestly thinking about coming out, these are the checkpoints that you’re going to have to go through.”

He started in Providence, playing six games, which landed well among his teammates in Boston. Sweeney noted that some players thought it was great that he started in Providence and did not assume he had a roster spot guaranteed in Boston’s playoff push.

Even the fourth line has contributed late, with Mark Kastelic scoring three times in the last two games and surpassing the 10-goal mark for the first time in his career. They have been critical in embracing the Bruins’ identity, while also driving the “dynamic behind the scenes.”

With contributions coming from across the lineup, the Bruins will look to carry that collective approach against a red-hot Buffalo Sabres team in Game 1 on Sunday.

FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON 𝕏| FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON 𝕏

The post Bruins Relying on Leadership, Depth Entering Playoffs appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.