The Boston Bruins came into this series with one “Perfection Line.” Their top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are brilliant. Bergeron is nominated for the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward for the eighth straight time, Pastrnak co-ed the league in goals. At the same time, Marchand brings energy, physicality and he has scored 357 points over the past three seasons.
However, another “Perfection Line” has joined them, the line of Jake Debrusk, Ondrej Kase and David Krejci. That line was the best in the series, and when Pastrnak was injured, they stepped up. But all six of these players on both lines played a massive role in the series.
Impact of the Second Perfection Line
The Krejci, Kase and DeBrusk line played great all series. They had a 57.75 Corsi for percentage 5-on-5, meaning they generated 15.5-percent more shooting attempts than their opposition (that stat and all advanced stats in this piece are from Natural Stat Trick). However, Krejci was the only one scoring; at that point, he had five points in three games. DeBrusk and Kase both were playing well but couldn’t capitalize on their chances.
That changed in a big way in Game 4.
Nearing the halfway point of the third period of Game 4, the Bruins were down 2-0. But DeBrusk chipped the puck past Carolina Hurricanes’ defenceman Haydn Fleury, and skated around hime. DeBrusk beat Carolina’s goalie James Reimer for the puck as Reimer came out the net to try to get it first and scored on the empty net.
That ignited the Bruins come back to make the game 3-2. Seven minutes after DeBrusk’s goal, Krejci, Kase and DeBrusk completed close to a tic-tac-toe play for DeBrusk’s second goal. That goal would be the game-winner.
Without the Krejci line, the Bruins don’t complete their comeback in Game 4, and they probably don’t survive Pastrnak’s injury. Carolina couldn’t completely focus on Marchand and Bergeron because of how well that line was playing. That allowed both lines to succeed.
The Bruins Original Perfection Line
Let’s not kid ourselves. This line is still Boston’s top-line. For as well as the Krejci line was playing, only Krejci was scoring for most of the series. The top line was only together for two games, but they scored four goals when all three were on the ice.
They won Game 1 for Boston. All three of them got points on Bergeron’s overtime-winner, and they also scored Boston’s first goal of the series.
They were also killers when Pastrnak came back in Game 5. Carolina was up 1-0 in an elimination game for them. But the top line made sure the Canes got eliminated. Pastrnak and Bergeron assisted on Krejci’s power-play goal with five minutes left in the second period. Four minutes later, Pastrnak missed a shot over the blocker of Carolina’s goalie Peter Mrazek. Bergeron grabbed the puck near the boards and shot it through Mrazek’s legs for the game and series-winning goal.
But Bergeron and Marchand were better without Pastrnak. They had a 61.29 Corsi for percentage without him five-on-five, which is nearly 20 percent better than with him. Marchand had five points in the three games without Pastrnak in the line-up.
This line traditionally plays well. This regular season, they had a 58.56 Corsi for percentage with 43 goals for and 23 against during even strength. If they find their puck possession groove, opponents should watch out.
Carolina Hurricanes Review
The big issue for the Hurricanes was their inability to generate offence. After Game 2, the Hurricanes only scored five goals in three games, and in two of those games, they only scored one goal. In terms of expected goals, both teams were nearly even during the first two games, but the Bruins separated themselves in Games 3 and 4. During those two games, Carolina was expected to score 1.75 and 1.04 goals. When Carolina tried to get forecheck pressure, the Bruins played with four players down low that blocked all the passing lanes, and Boston was more determined to get the puck. Carolina played better in Game 5, but they could only score one goal.
Defensively, Carolina was fine. They were expected to give up 15 goals, and that is what they did. They have one of the best defences in the NHL, but they didn’t have one of their best defensemen in Brett Pesce, and Sami Vatanen and Brady Skjei had a combined seven games of experience on their blue-line before the postseason. Hitting their expected goals against is fine, given the circumstances.
The goaltending was also better than what they were given credit for. Petr Mrazek made a few crucial errors that led to goals but overall, Mrazek had a .929 save percentage in the playoffs and made a few big saves in the series. If he could cut down on his mental mistakes, he would have been great. Reimer was the goalie in their meltdown in Game 4. However, he made the saves he was supposed to and didn’t stop the shots he wasn’t, which is all Carolina could ask for from their back-up goalie.
Boston Bruins Outlook
The best team in this year’s regular season, to no one’s surprise, will be a tough team to beat. Boston works extremely hard in all three zones, is challenging to forecheck because of their defensive structure, and they are brilliant at battling for pucks and cycling the puck in the offensive zone. They now have two lines that are serious offensive threats if they keep up their play.
The biggest question is goaltending. With Tuukka Rask opting out of the bubble, Jaroslav Halak is the undisputed starter. He played well in Games 3 and 5 but had a shaky Game 4. Carolina was supposed to score one goal in that game, but they scored two underneath Halak’s glove, shots that he should have stopped. If that was a one-time thing from Halak, they have no issues unless he gets hurt. But if that continues against a better offensive team, that could be a big problem.
If goaltending holds up, the Bruin’s hard-working and structured game is going to be a problem for all of their opponents.
