Marco Sturm has spent much of Boston’s fast start rewarding the Bruins’ younger players, and that approach kept paying off in Dallas - right up until the game got tight.
The Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars on Tuesday night came with a familiar twist. A group of fresh faces again supplied the offense, but when the third period turned into a grind, Sturm cut back on their ice time and leaned on his veterans instead. That choice now looks like the one bench decision Boston may revisit after letting a point slip away.
Matt Poitras and James Hagens both scored against a hard-nosed Dallas club, continuing a season-long trend for Boston. Of the Bruins’ last 20 goals, 12 have come from players 25 or younger.
Poitras, Hagens and Fraser Minten have all been central to that production, and they each lead the team with six 5-on-5 points. Poitras, in particular, has been explosive; among players with at least five games played this season, only Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon have posted more 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes than his 5.08.
Still, when the game sat tied 2-2 late in regulation, Sturm pulled back. Hagens and Poitras did not play over the final five-plus minutes of the third period or in all 3:52 of overtime.
Rookie defenseman Frederic Brunet, who assisted on Poitras’ fourth goal in seven games this season, also sat for the final 4:33 of the third before getting one shift in overtime. Poitras finished with just 9:01 of ice time.
Afterward, Sturm didn’t hide his thinking. “It’s a good thing.
Again, they still need to learn,” Sturm said of Hagens and Poitras. “You could see it when you play a team like Dallas today, a lot of veterans, and it’s kind of like a little bit more of a playoff atmosphere.
“You could tell they made a little bit more mistakes than some other games. But it’s healthy, though. It’s going to help them moving forward.”
That’s a reasonable coaching instinct in a vacuum. But with the Bruins already getting real offense from that younger group, the decision became harder to defend once the game stayed level.
If Boston had been clinging to a lead, the move would have made more sense. Instead, the Bruins were still searching for a breakthrough, and their most productive 5-on-5 forwards were watching.
The older core didn’t solve it. Boston’s bigger names have not matched the pace of the young players at 5-on-5: David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie and JJ Peterka each have just four 5-on-5 points in 10 games, while Pavel Zacha has only two in nine. The power play didn’t rescue them either, with those top options going 0-for-4 against Dallas.
Jeremy Swayman kept Boston alive with several strong stops, especially as the Stars tilted overtime in their favor. But the Bruins also handed Dallas openings through turnovers by Peterka, Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Then a slashing penalty on Zacha set the stage for Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick, finished with a power-play goal with 1:08 left in overtime.
So while Boston still has plenty to feel good about after a 3-0-1 road trip and a 7-2-1 start, Tuesday night offered the first real glimpse of the downside to leaning too hard on caution. The Bruins’ youth movement has been a major reason for their early success. In Dallas, though, it may have been the group left on the bench that cost them a point.
In Other News...
Bruins Waste Big Opportunity In Loss That Leaves One Clear Concern
The Bruins left Dallas with a point but not the result they wanted, falling 3-2 in overtime at American Airlines Center in a game that felt like a missed chance for a team sitting atop the Atlantic Division and tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Boston had enough strong stretches to make the trip feel winnable, with Jeremy Swayman, Matthew Poitras and Nikita Zadorov among the players who helped keep the game on track.
Still, the details of how the loss unfolded will linger. Boston could not cash in on a key advantage when it needed to separate itself, and by the time overtime arrived, the margin for error had already disappeared. Against a Dallas team led by Mikko Rantanens big night, the Bruins were left with a reminder that even a solid overall performance can turn into an expensive lesson when one area of the game goes missing at the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Gave Fans One More Reason To Watch Khusnutdinov Closely
The Bruins wrapped up a four-game road trip at 3-0-1, a solid stretch that still ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars in Dallas. Boston had enough going in the right direction to leave the trip with positives, even if Mikko Rantanens hat trick ultimately swung the night for the home team.
Amid that backdrop, theres a reason to keep a closer eye on Marat Khusnutdinov, who has become part of the conversation around Bostons roster beyond just the immediate results on the ice. The Bruins are also being linked to a possible move involving Dylan Larkins trade landscape, while a few other familiar names around the league have recently found themselves back where they started, adding to a busy stretch of NHL storylines. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Real Chance In A Surprising Trade Watch
A quiet contract standoff in Detroit has suddenly put the Bruins in the middle of an interesting trade watch. Simon Edvinsson and his agent recently met with interim GM Shawn Horcoff as the Red Wings continue to work toward an extension, and Boston is among the teams keeping tabs on the situation as the 6-foot-6 defensemans future hangs in the balance.
Edvinsson has not formally asked out, but the longer talks drag on, the more likely a move starts to look if no deal comes together. Detroit still says it wants to keep him, yet there is clearly enough outside interest to make this one worth monitoring, with the Bruins one of the clubs that could benefit if the Red Wings decide to revisit the market. [Read more 🡒]