With Pavel Zacha out, Bruins’ Morgan Geekie set for top-six promotion against Devils

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With Pavel Zacha out, Bruins’ Morgan Geekie set for top-six promotion against Devils

Posted By: jasabacklink December 12, 2023

Bruins

“He’s a big horse that can occupy the middle of the ice, drive the net.”

Morgan Geekie played over 17 minutes of ice time against Arizona. . (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

After opening Saturday’s matinee matchup against the Coyotes on the fourth line, Morgan Geekie is set to skate alongside David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk in Boston’s upcoming road matchup in Newark.

An in-game, top-six promotion for Geekie against Arizona will carry over into this week, with Jim Montgomery announcing on Tuesday that both Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy have not been cleared to play in Wednesday’s primetime meeting with the New Jersey Devils.  

“They’re not game-ready for tomorrow,” Montgomery said of Zacha and McAvoy. “We’ll see after that. Day by day again.”

Zacha missed the final two periods of Saturday’s 5-3 win over the Coyotes due to an upper-body ailment. McAvoy is set to sit out his second-straight game after taking a shot up high from Buffalo’s JJ Peterka on Thursday night.

Both Mason Lohrei and Ian Mitchell will slot in on the blue line to account for the absences of McAvoy and Derek Forbort — who remains on long-term injured reserve due to a nagging lower-body injury.

As the man in the middle of a line featuring both DeBrusk and Pastrnak, Geekie will look to build his game around a duo with plenty of O-zone firepower. 

“Any time you get to play with players of their caliber, it’s something special,” Geekie said of skating with Pastrnak and DeBrusk. “Like I’ve said before, I’m just trying to go out there and kind of give them the puck in the right spots, and we all know what [Pastrnak] can do with it. So yeah, just try to get open, make space for him and create some plays.”

Geekie made the most of his added reps on Saturday against Arizona.

The 25-year-old forward logged 17:31 of ice time — his second-highest workload of the season — and recorded a primary assist on Pastrnak’s second goal of the afternoon after driving to the net and hitting the star winger with a slick backhand feed. 

During Geekie’s 7:42 of 5v5 ice time next to Pastrnak on Saturday, the Bruins held an 11-3 edge in shot attempts, outshot Arizona, 6-2, and held a 1-0 advantage in goals scored.

“He’s a big horse that can occupy the middle of the ice, drive the net,” Montgomery said of Geekie’s ability as a top-six option. “He wins battles, not only one-on-one battles, but he wins battles against two people because of his strength and his tenacity on pucks. …  We’re looking for people to seize the opportunities that are presented for them.”

Need for speed

The Devils established themselves as a burgeoning juggernaut in the Eastern Conference in 2022-23, with a high-octane offense elevated by star center Jack Hughes turning Lindy Ruff’s squad into a team capable of shredding even the stingiest opposing defensive structure. 

A mix of injuries and defensive woes have hampered New Jersey at times this season, with the Devils currently on the outside looking in at a playoff spot with a 14-11-1 record.

As New Jersey tries to regain its footing in the Metropolitan Division, a Bruins defense prone to coughing up chances on the rush makes for an appealing matchup. “Just the speed and transition,” Montgomery said when asked about New Jersey’s strengths. “We have to do everything a second quicker so that we have the numbers we want in the right areas, which is at our goal lines for our forecheck and for our breakouts, and then also just getting above them.

“We haven’t done a great job of staying above people consistently, given up too many odd-man rushes on the year as it is. So it’s gonna be a great test to see if our transition to defense in particular is where it needs to be.”

Reinforcements on the way

With Zacha on the mend, the Bruins announced Tuesday morning that they recalled Jesper Boqvist from the Providence Bruins. The 25-year-old forward has posted 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 24 games with Providence this season.

“There’s a lot of players playing well right now down in Providence,” Montgomery said of the decision to call up Boqvist. “A little bit is how well he’s playing. And also it’s New Jersey, and it’s where he played. I always find guys dig in and want to show the other team why they could have kept them.” 

Even though Boqvist will have extra motivation skating against his former team on Wednesday, Montgomery said a decision has not been made about whether or not the AHL call-up will slot into the lineup in Newark. 

Montgomery opted not to share which goalie will start in net on Wednesday night, but added that both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are “healthy” and available. Swayman has not played since Dec. 3, missing some time last week due to illness.