Taylor Hall’s arrival from Buffalo brought a much-needed dynamic on the Bruins’ second line with David Krejci and Craig Smith. With that, Boston now has 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.
The other four forwards on the third and fourth lines — Coyle, DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner — haven’t provided the same consistency.