Hockey ‘tremendous enjoyable’ for the Bruins’ high-scoring Morgan Geekie

While 11 NHLers have linked for extra since October 2024, as of Saturday morning Geekie’s 49 strikes in that stretch stood one higher than MacKinnon, three north of Tampa sniper Nikita Kucherov and, maintain it, 4 greater than the legendary Sidney Crosby.

Yep, Geek’s received it going, more and more making it seem like his career-high 33 strikes final season amounted to a baseline and never a one-off, oh-yeah-he’ll-never-match-that-again fluke.

“I think I’ve kind of built off last year,” famous Geekie, in his Rick-Middleton-understated type of method. The profitable of late, he added, “makes it a little bit more fun and easier to come to the rink for everybody.”

The win snapped a two-game shedding streak and improved the Bruins’ report to 13-10-0. While they stood No. 1 (26 factors) within the Atlantic Division as of Saturday morning, the Bruins have been thirteenth within the 16-team Eastern Conference primarily based on factors proportion (.565). All of which is to say, with 59 video games to go within the common season, the Black & Gold must decide up the tempo to keep away from a second straight playoff DNQ.

Headed into Sunday evening’s go to with the San Jose Sharks, they have been on tempo for 93 factors, a degree that possible would have them straddling the playoff reduce line come April. So whereas they enormously have exceeded what many pundits predicted in September, it appears like they’ll need to grind by means of proper into the ultimate days of April.

At least they’re in that place, thanks largely to Geekie’s unremitting hammering of the vulcanized rubber.

“Maybe a little bit better opportunity and seizing it, and taking advantage of that,” mused Geekie, requested to elucidate his continued uptick in aim manufacturing. “And trusting myself a little more in those situations.”

Reflecting on Friday evening’s winner — a scorching shot off a David Pastrnak feed at 2:27 of OT — Geekie famous final yr, he won’t have taken that shot in the same state of affairs.

“It’s easier to build confidence when you have confidence,” he mentioned. “Hockey is super fun right now.”

Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves within the Bruins internet and picked up his sixth win in his final seven begins. He is now 9-5-0 and once more trying just like the franchise stopper who signed an eight-year, $66 million deal on the eve of final season.

Geekie’s first aim in LA got here on a booming one-time slapper (you anticipated a doorstep tap-in?) off a feed from Alex Steeves at 8:01 of the third interval, the shot eluding Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper on the blocker facet. It was the third time this season that Geekie scored the sport’s opening aim.

Geekie additionally scored twice on the ability play in Wednesday evening’s 4-3 loss in Anaheim. He’ll enter the sport in San Jose on tempo for 57 objectives. Only six Bruins, together with Pastrnak, have reached the 50-goal plateau.

Just over 5 minutes after Geekie scored the evening’s first aim, the Kings evened it, 1-1, on a Joel Armia shorthanded strike at 13:03.

The Bruins remained with out No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy and three of their prime forwards — No. 1 pivot Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and ex-Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson.

The lack of personnel has been taking its toll, significantly in a season with so little rest-and-recovery constructed into the schedule. In San Jose, cease No. 3 of the four-game journey, the Bruins will play their twenty fourth sport in 47 days.

It can be an exhausting tempo even for a lineup with its personnel totally intact. With a few of their prime gamers pressured to the sidelines, it has grow to be a grueling grind.

Geekie’s aim binge has made it extra tolerable.

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Kevin Paul Dupont might be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.