BOSTON — When he plays up to his potential, Ryan Spooner can be a dangerous offensive weapon weapon for the Bruins.
The young centerman showed that Saturday afternoon, turning in one of his most complete efforts of the season as Boston took down the visiting Florida Panthers 3-1 at TD Garden.
Spooner scored twice in the win, deflecting a Torey Krug shot past goalie Roberto Luongo in the first period and then beating Luongo on the power play for the eventual game-winner in the third. It was his first multi-goal effort since March 19 and just the third of his career.
“I thought he had a pretty solid game,” head coach Claude Julien said. “Both his goals are things that we’ve talked about for him — going to the net on that first one to tip it in, and being a bit more of a shooter sometimes on the half wall to keep the penalty kill guessing, instead of being predictable — and then he was rewarded for both of those. So, he had a good game for us.”
Spooner has been a fixture on Boston’s power play since opening night, but he’s struggled to produce in 5-on-5 situations this season. His first goal Saturday was the first he’d scored at even strength since Oct. 23, and the way he scored it — off a deflection from directly in front of the goaltender — was a departure from his usual playing style.
“(Getting to the front of the net) is not something that I’ve done a lot, but it’s something that I definitely need to do a lot more of,” the 5-foot-10, 184-pound forward said. “And it I guess paid off (Saturday). I have to try to get there I guess a lot more.”
While the Bruins’ top power-play unit has remained more or less intact throughout the season, Spooner’s line has undergone countless tweaks and adjustments. He’s skated with Frank Vatrano, Jimmy Hayes, Brett Connolly, Landon Ferraro and Joonas Kemppainen in the last six games alone and even was seeing considerable time on the wing before Kemppainen went down with an upper body injury.
“It’s definitely a change,” said Spooner, who along with Milan Lucic and David Pastrnak formed one of Boston’s most potent trios last season. “You get used to playing with the same guys.
“… There’s been some games this year where we haven’t really created enough. That’s something that we need to work on, and I feel like it’s getting a lot better. But it definitely helps to stay with the same guys — you get used to what they do, and where they like to go, and all that kind of stuff.”
It’s unlikely stability will come any time soon for Spooner. The impending returns of Kemppainen and Pastrnak, who’s missed the last 18 games with a broken foot, will result in even more shuffling of Boston’s bottom six.
This type of nightly uncertainty can be difficult for a young player to handle. But Hayes, Spooner’s most constant linemate this season, is confident in the 23-year-old’s abilities.
“I think you’ve just got to play the same way,” Hayes said. “Find some consistency in your game. That’s what Spoons is learning as a young guy. And myself, being consistent and playing the same way no matter who you play with. He’s a playmaker, and he’s pretty good at it. He had a nice game (Saturday) and he’s going to continue doing that the rest of the year.”
Thumbnail photo via Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
