Trial By Fire: Bruins Aren’t Easing Matthew Poitras Into NHL Life

Things are going to look a bit different when the Boston Bruins take the ice Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.

B’s head coach Jim Montgomery decided to switch up his lines during Boston’s extended break between games. Charlie Coyle will drop down to his customary spot on the third line, with Matthew Poitras bumping up to the second unit. It is on that line that the 19-year-old will center Morgan Geekie and Bruins captain Brad Marchand.

The idea of playing in the NHL was probably scary enough, but Poitras’ job description now includes keeping pace with one of the greatest players in franchise history. Welcome to the league, kid!

The Bruins aren’t worried about how he’ll perform, though.

“When he gets on the ice, he’s a heck of a player,” Marchand said, per Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. “He definitely shows that he belongs here. The biggest thing will be his consistency and showing up every night. He’s done that so far.”

Poitras is just two games into his career, but he’s already shown enough for many to believe he’ll be sticking around. The Bruins have a nine-game window where they can deploy Poitras without starting the clock on the first season of his entry-level contract — a window they’re probably going to blow right past.

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The last real test for Poitras is going to be how he can hold up against top defensive pairs. The Bruins intentionally had him play the majority of his minutes against the Nashville Predators‘ third pair last week, which worked out well as the 19-year-old drew a penalty. He’s playing with Marchand now, though, which won’t afford Boston the opportunity to mix and match.

“I don’t think he’s going to get a favorable matchup with Marchand on his line,” Montgomery said, per Shinzawa. “If you’re going to play in the NHL, you’ve got to play against everybody.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Boston’s latest line combination holds up. We’ve seen Coyle on the third line and it works, as does having David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk on the top line. It all comes down to whether Poitras is ready, and something tells us he will be.