The Bruins opened the year with a clean 3-0 win over the New York Rangers at TD Garden, but the good start didn’t hide everything. Boston now heads out for a back-to-back set against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night and the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, and head coach Marco Sturm has already shown he’s willing to send a message early in the season if a player’s game slips.
That puts a few Bruins in the spotlight heading into Winnipeg.
Elias Lindholm had a night that raised more questions than answers. David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka clicked well together, and Peterka capped the win with an insurance goal after Fraser Minten had given Boston a 1-0 lead late in the third period.
Peterka used a slick move through the legs of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider before beating Igor Shesterkin to make it 2-0. Lindholm, though, never found that kind of rhythm.
At times he looked like he was simply skating through the game, and he was hard to notice for long stretches. With questions already hanging over whether he can be the answer as the first-line center, that opener didn’t do much to quiet them.
Sean Kuraly is another player who needs a sharper showing. Boston’s fourth line of Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic was effective against New York, with Kastelic sealing the win on an empty-net goal and both Jeannot and Kastelic giving the Rangers plenty to deal with.
Kuraly didn’t have the same impact in the middle of that group. There’s a case to be made for trying Matthew Poitras at fourth-line center once he’s ready, especially with Jeannot and Kastelic on the wings to help cover for him.
James Hagens is the third name to watch, even if this one comes with a little more patience attached. It was only his third regular-season game overall, and he already had three playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres on his resume from last season.
Still, there were moments when he looked tentative, as if he was holding back from making a play or taking a chance. He did get a good shot off in the third period, but Shesterkin turned it aside.
Sturm is expected to keep giving the “Kid Line” of Hagens, Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov time to work, though it wouldn’t be a shock if Hagens found himself scratched at some point.
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