Taylor Hall’s arrival from Buffalo brought a much-needed dynamic on the second line with David Krejci and Craig Smith. With that, the Boston Bruins now have an efficient second trio to complement the dynamic top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and a struggling but highly-skilled David Pastrnak.
If only the Bruins’ bottom-six didn’t find themselves in catchup mode.
It hasn’t been all bad with Boston’s third and fourth lines. Nick Ritchie found his scoring touch again in a third-line role with Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle. Curtis Lazar provided versatility and energy to the fourth line.