It’s been a tale of two lines for the Boston Bruins top trio in their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in terms of production.
In the Bruins three wins in the series, the Bergeron line with Brad Marchand and Pastrnak have combined to put up 23 points. Over their three loses to the Leafs, the three have combined with zero points while posting a -16, albeit registering 39 shots on goal, and controlling the shot attempts.
If we go even further, the line was plus 18 in after the Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, but have since gone a -14 in Games 3-6. Even if plus/minus is not the most trust worthy stat, it’s still noteworthy to look at in a short series where one single goal can have a massive outcome.
As you can see, there’s a correlation here of when that line doesn’t score, the Bruins don’t win.
While the production hasn’t quite been there, the trio has still shown glimpses of dominance agains the Leafs for over their slump, with a little lady luck and hot goaltending from Freddie Andersen getting in the way. It doesn't help when Patrice Bergeron isn't fully at his game, either, as he was forced to sit out a game with a shoulder injury, and hasn't looked like the two-way beast hockey fans have grown to know him as. The Leafs have also done a good job at keeping the Bruins to the outside and have done a decent job at taking away shooting lanes.
The Leafs goaltender has been the reason why the Leafs were able to claw back and force a winner take all Game 7. He posted 42-saves and a .933 save percentage in Game 5, and then followed that up with a fantastic 32-save effort while stopping .970 of the shots directed at him, so Andersen does deserve a ton of credit here for keeping them off the score sheet.
There’s no question players like Rick Nash and Charlie McAvoy could pick their game up, along with goaltender Tuukka Rask. But one thing is clear: if the Bruins want to make some noise this spring, they're going to need their top line to start producing like a top line when the stakes are at their highest.
Just don't ask Pastrnak if he's going to change anything up.
