Top Line Rounds Back Into Form

NEWARK, N.J.- For a time, Bruce Cassidy was not quite sure what he wanted to do upon David Pastrnak's return to the lineup.
He contemplated scenarios that had the winger on each of the Bruins' top two lines, but as Pastrnak's comeback neared and the regular-season schedule dwindled, Cassidy felt it was best that the 22-year-old return to his familiar place as Boston's No. 1 right winger alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
And it was performances like the one the trio put forth on Thursday night that Cassidy had in mind when he made his decision.
Boston's top triumvirate appeared back to normal in the team's 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center, combining for eight points and three goals in the B's third straight win.

"When they're going, they pull the rest of the guys along," said Cassidy. "It's been a bit of the story of our team early in the year. Now we're seeing more secondary scoring. But they're certainly are go-to guys, they're our drivers."

Pastrnak picked up two points - including his 32nd goal of the season - in his second game back from his thumb injury, Bergeron added two goals and an assist, and Marchand notched three helpers to pace Boston's second consecutive five-goal effort.
"I thought a lot of good read-and-react plays, a lot of plays in their O-zone where we could have had a few more. Defensively I thought we played well, played tight, stingy," said Bergeron, whose empty-netter late in the third secured the fifth 30-goal campaign of his career.
"I thought the chemistry was definitely back. Communication is always key, so I think we did a lot of that tonight after every shift and we've got to carry that forward."
Marchand assisted on all three of the line's goals, giving him 59 for the season. He also hit the 90-point plateau for the first time in his career, and with eight games remaining has a shot at becoming the Bruins' first 100-point scorer since Joe Thornton had 101 in 2002-03.
It's a milestone that Cassidy, who coached Marchand during his early days in Providence, finds quite impressive.
"I didn't see him as a big point-getter," said Cassidy. "But he's managed to grow his game in terms of making plays…proud of the guy. He works hard in every aspect of the game. He's grown his game…good for him. I'm sure people will start talking about 100 and why not?"

For Bergeron, Marchand's long-time partner in crime, it's the winger's all-around growth that sticks out the most.
"He just keeps getting better," said Bergeron. "He's an elite player in this league, one of the best left-wingers in the league and I think he's proving that from one year to another. Obviously those numbers don't lie, but also just the work that he puts in every day.
"He's a big part of our team on and off the ice. He's a leader now and it's not just about points. It's about the details, the PK, and everything. It goes out to all the hard work that he's been putting in."
Marchand's first helper came on Bergeron's opening tally with 1:26 remaining in the first, but it was Pastrnak's dish that garnered most of the attention. The winger's nifty feed across the slot marked his first point in the two games since his return.
"Pasta was buzzing around out there tonight. I think he was feeling pretty good," said Marchand. "You see the play he made on that first one for Bergy. He's a very talented player and it's a lot of fun to watch him make plays like that. He's very valuable to our group…he looked like himself tonight."
Pastrnak looked even more like himself later in the night when he buried Marchand's pass to give Boston a 2-0 lead at 12:58 of the second, though the winger admitted after the game to still feeling plenty of rust.
"We capitalized on our chances. Last game, we had the same amount of chances, I would say, it just didn't go in. That was good," said Pastrnak. "To be honest, I felt way worse than last game. It's good to be back and get a couple games. Hopefully it's gonna be better and better every game."

Breaking Through

The Bruins also got offensive contributions from the bottom six, with Danton Heinen and David Backes adding insurance tallies in the third period to break their lengthy scoring droughts.
Heinen's marker - his 10th of the season - came off an odd-man rush early in the final frame, with the winger finishing off a 2-on-1 with a top-corner snipe over the right shoulder of Schneider to give Boston a 3-1 lead and snap a stretch of 18 games without a goal.
"Glad he shot the puck," said Cassidy. "I think he's a pass-first guy and he's got a good release. He's done a good job for us. We've moved him all over. Didn't have the year so far that he had last year. Sometimes that happens, but he's still a productive player for us, a good player in the league. We've just got to find the right spot for him."
Backes, meanwhile, took his drought down to the wire. The winger tipped home a Noel Acciari shot with just 22 seconds remaining to notch his sixth of the season and push the Bruins' lead to 5-1. It was Backes' first goal in 22 games.
"Twenty two seemed to be a special number," said Backes. "I was looking at the stat sheet this morning and I said, 'That's enough, we've got to find a way to get on there.' I had little bit more of a shooting mentality today, I thought…to reward my line mates for a lot of the work that they do, I'm not gonna decline that even with 22 seconds to go, even though it's a little icing on the cake for the game."

Kuraly Injured

The victory - as so many have this season - did not come without a cost. Sean Kuraly left the game in the third period after blocking a shot up high on the play that led to Heinen's goal. Kuraly returned briefly and took one shift, before retreating to the dressing room for good.
"Obviously didn't return, so that's never good news. We'll see," said Cassidy.
Kuraly's block propelled the puck out toward the neutral zone, where Heinen picked it up and broke into the New Jersey end on a 2-on-1 with Chris Wagner.
"That's huge," Heinen said of Kuraly's block. "He does a lot of little things so well. It's tough to see him go down there. That was a big block. Hopefully he's back soon."