Czech Line reinvents Bruins as true Stanley Cup contenders

The Boston Bruins are protecting a one-goal lead entering the third period against a division rival. They know what to do, right? Go to their big line to deliver the killer instinct and finish off their opponent.

And that is was they did last Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star break on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Any time in the previous six seasons or so, it would’ve meant sending Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak over the boards to wreck everyone in their path. The ‘Perfection Line’ was the NHL’s best. And no franchise relied on a single powerhouse line more, for better or worse.

But in last week’s 5-2 win? It wasn’t the Perfection Line icing the game. They started that contest together, but coach Jim Montgomery pivoted to Pavel Zacha, David Krejci and Pastrnak. The Czech Line took over, Zacha buried two third-period goals, and Boston rode off into its bye week on pace to break the NHL record for team points in a season.

“I think that line is very dynamic,” Montgomery said. “It’s one of the most creative lines in the league, the way they score goals.”

The creativity makes them a fun group to watch. But they’re a lot more than just fun. Their excellence as a No. 2 line has been vital as Marchand and Bergeron have formed a duo with a rotating right winger while Jake DeBrusk has been shelved with a fractured fibula. In previous seasons, the Bruins, despite regularly contending for playoff spots and even reaching Game 7 of the 2018-19 Stanley Cup Final, had one key weakness: they were top heavy. Now, being able to roll two equally deadly lines is arguably as responsible as anything else is for their incredible dominance this season.

Here’s a look at the 5-on-5 goals scored by the Bruins while all three Perfection Line members were on the ice together in previous seasons and the percentage of the total team goal-scoring pie they consumed.

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line, 5-on-5 on-ice

To reiterate: these goal numbers only include when all three players were on the ice at the same time. It’s staggering to see that 63-37-88 were on the ice for more than 30% of Boston’s 5-on-5 goals for a two-season stretch. Note the drop-off for the Perfection Line last season, when then-coach Bruce Cassidy experimented with moving Pastrnak to a different trio.

Now, a glance at how the top two lines are splitting Boston’s pie this season:

New Bruins line deployments, 2022-23

Here’s another way to look at it. How has the rest of Boston’s lineup fared at 5-on-5 with none of Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak on the ice since 2016-17?

For the previous six seasons, Boston broke even without the Perfection Line. This season: the Bruins score almost 60 percent of the goals at 5-on-5 when Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak are on the bench. Remarkable, and that’s important for when Montgomery sometimes reunites the Perfection Line.

While Pastrnak is obviously the most dynamic presence on his own line, he has real support in Zacha and Krejci. The latter has an existing rapport with Pastrnak, of course. Krejci, 36, returned from a year playing at home in Czechia and looks rejuvenated in his usual No. 2 playmaking center role. If you subscribe to the notion that every great line needs a passer, a shooter and a digger: Zacha has excelled as the digger.

“He’s a little bit of a glue guy who has to do a lot of the dirty work, so to speak, drive the middle lane, be the first guy on the forecheck, be the first guy on the backcheck,” Montgomery said. “But they play really well together.”

Zacha, the sixth overall pick in the legendary 2015 draft, was generally perceived as a disappointment before the Bruins bought low on him in a one-for-one trade with the New Jersey Devils for veteran center Erik Haula last summer. Through just 51 games this season, Zacha, 25, is just two points away from eclipsing his career high of 36. And that’s despite the fact he’s playing his fewest minutes per game since 2017-18 at 15:44. 

In 5-on-5 play, most of his play-driving metrics are more or less in line with his career averages, with the exception of playmaking. His assists, primary assists and points per 60 are through the roof. Playing with Pastrnak will do that, but Zacha’s puck retrieval skills are also helping his teammates score. Zacha has been an efficient presence as a disruptive forechecker.

That is the overarching theme of Boston’s season: help from teammates. The idea floated by some prognosticators before the season that the Bruins might have to blow it up after 2022-23 was partially predicated on the idea there wasn’t any depth beyond the big three. But the efforts of players like Zacha, Hampus Lindholm and Linus Ullmark have remade Boston’s identity. This is a deep team now and has earned its status as the No. 1 Cup contender. And if pending UFA Pastrnak re-signs, maybe the ‘Last Dance’ Stanley Cup window won’t close after all.