Kastelic, fourth line giving Bruins much-needed scoring depth early on originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins acquired two players as part of the Linus Ullmark trade with the Ottawa Senators back in June, and one of them ranks among Boston’s best players through the first four games of the season.
Veteran goalie Joonas Korpisalo came to Boston in the deal. He started the season opener against the Florida Panthers and will be Jeremy Swayman’s backup.
The other player the Bruins got in the trade was center Mark Kastelic, and he is making a strong impact at both ends of the ice with his new team.
The fourth line of Johnny Beecher at left wing, Cole Koepke at right wing and Kastelic at center has been a force for head coach Jim Montgomery over four games. Not only is this group throwing hits, blocking shots, winning faceoffs and fighting hard for real estate in the tough areas of the ice, it’s also producing at a high rate offensively.
Kastelic has been the primary driver of that scoring with two goals in a win over the Montreal Canadiens last week, and then he picked up three assists versus the Florida Panthers in Monday afternoon’s game at TD Garden. He helped set up all of Boston’s goals in a 4-3 loss, including this tally by Brandon Carlo in the second period.
“I think with each game we’re creating chemistry, and at the same time, we’re getting a lot of our success by playing simple and playing the way that got us to this level, playing with a lot of speed,” Kastelic said after Monday’ loss. “It’s been fun playing with these guys, they’re great players.”
Kastelic isn’t just making his mark on the scoresheet. He’s also winning an impressive 56.7 percent of his faceoffs. Winning draws is one of his best skills, and it’s one the Bruins badly needed after ranking 21st out of 32 teams in faceoff win percentage last season. Kastelic is a trustworthy center to take important draws late in games and on the penalty kill.
The Panthers were winning more faceoffs early in Monday’s game, but the Bruins eventually turned it around and ended up winning 33 to Florida’s 32.
“We have a lot of good faceoff guys in the room,” Kastelic said. “So I think even when we’re struggling we can turn it around with just how good our guys are.”
The Bruins’ fourth line of Beecher, Koepke and Kastelic is playing simple, smart and physical hockey. In many ways, they are carrying the team right now.
Kastelic is tied for the team lead in scoring with five points (two goals, three assists). Beecher has four points (one goal, three assists) and Koepke has four points (one goal, three assists). Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak are the only other B’s forwards with more than two points through four games. The top-six is not producing enough offensively.
The fourth line is also playing hard without going over the edge and costing the team with bad penalties. Kastelic and Beecher have not taken a minor penalty through four games. Koepke has taken only one. This line did not lose its discipline against the Panthers on Monday. The same can’t be said for many of their teammates.
“Really happy with the bottom six. The fourth line has been very, very impressive,” Montgomery said postgame. “They’re just doing their role. The guys in the top six aren’t doing their role.”
It’s great for the Bruins that they’ve found a fourth line with a clear identity and good chemistry. But for this team to meet its lofty expectations, the top-six forwards have to show lots of improvement.
“They’ve been unbelievable,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said postgame when asked about the bottom-six forwards. “It’s great to see the way they compete and bring it every night. The rest of us have to take a page out of their book and be a lot better. They’re definitely carrying the weight right now.”
