The Boston Bruins offense is being carried by the Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith line in the month of December.
Boston’s offense has scored two goals or fewer in five of seven games this month and 12 of the last 15 games. The Bergeron line has given the team a consistent spark offensively with a combined 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in December.
| December | G | A | PTS |
| Patrice Bergeron | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Brad Marchand | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Reilly Smith | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| TOTAL | 7 | 11 | 18 |
Reilly Smith scored his fourth goal of the month in Tuesday night’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. He’s now tied with Marchand for the team lead in goals scored with eight.
Each player also has been a fantastic driver of puck possession with a Corsi-for percentage above 54 at 5-on-5.
The Bruins need more than one line consistently creating offense for them to snap their losing streak and climb back into a playoff spot. but it’s encouraging to see the Bergeron trio show the same level of effectiveness it did for most of last season.
— Tuukka Rask was stellar again, making 38 saves on 40 shots for a .950 save percentage.
— Zdeno Chara led all Bruins with 25:46 of ice time, which included 2:42 of power play and 5:21 of penalty kill ice time. It was the first time he reached the 25-minute mark since returning to the lineup last Thursday following a 19-game absence.
— The Bruins power play went 0-for-3 and is now 1-for-13 in December.
— Joe Morrow didn’t play despite working on the top power play unit in Monday’s practice and skating on one of the top three pairings during Tuesday’s morning skate. It was his third consecutive game as a healthy scratch.
Morrow should return to the lineup soon because of his ability to quarterback a power-play and help breakouts with quick, accurate passes out of the defensive zone.
David Krejci also didn’t play. The veteran center has missed 11 consecutive games with an undisclosed injury.
— Gregory Campbell and Chris Kelly went a combined 5-for-18 on faceoffs (27 percent). Bergeron led the team at 60 percent (15-for-25). Nashville had a 36-34 edge on draws.
— Boston’s 15-13-3 record is its worst through 31 games since Claude Julien was hired as head coach for the 2007-08 season.
— The Predators had a 58-44 shot attempt advantage at 5-on-5.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
