One Boston Bruins winger continued his impressive goal-scoring streak Tuesday night. And no, his name was not Brad Marchand.
On a night when Marchand largely was held in check, Loui Eriksson provided the necessary offensive boost for the Bruins, scoring a goal 33 seconds into overtime to put the finishing touches on a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Though he hasn’t quite matched the 13 goals-in-13 games tear Marchand carried into Tuesday, Eriksson has scored in all four games of the Bruins’ current road trip and in five his last six contests overall.
“I’m finding ways to score right now,” Eriksson told NESN rinkside reporter Sarah Davis. “I just have to keep building on it. I’m just trying to stay maybe a little bit more in front (of the net) again, and the pucks are finding me. So, I’m going to try to keep doing that.”
Eriksson has been one of the Bruins’ best players all season long — he’s tied with David Krejci for second on the team in points with 45 — but this is the hottest he’s been from a goal-scoring perspective, as one-fourth of his 20 tallies this season have come in the last 10 days.
The timing of this hot streak is especially noteworthy. The NHL trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and with Eriksson set to hit free agency this summer, how he performs between now and Feb. 29 could go a long way toward determining whether the 30-year-old will be wearing a different sweater come March 1.
The Bruins know what they have in Eriksson: an excellent two-way forward who, barring injury, is almost guaranteed to give them at least 20 goals each season. That won’t change regardless of how he plays over the next two weeks.
For Boston, the decision of whether to re-sign him to an extension before the deadline — because taking the chance of him walking for nothing this summer is by far its least desirable option — primarily will come down to contract demands. Simply put: Are the Bruins willing to meet Eriksson’s asking price?
But an uptick in productivity like the one Eriksson currently is enjoying heading into prime wheeling and dealing season certainly could make other teams willing to offer more attractive packages if the Bruins do, in fact, decide to trade him.
Will that happen? Who knows. The Bruins’ current roster has holes that a trade could help address, but parting ways with a player of Eriksson’s caliber could sink their season and result in a second consecutive playoff no-show.
Either way, Eriksson couldn’t have picked a much better time do be doing what he’s doing right now.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports Images
