One of the reasons the Bruins marched to the regular-season Eastern Conference crown last season was because of their depth up the middle. As Pittsburgh rolled out Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal, the Bruins had their own three-center attack in Savard, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci. Last night, with Savard back atop the No. 1 line, the Bruins were once again three deep at center, this time with Bergeron keying the offense.
Bergeron assisted on all four goals - two power-play strikes, one even-strength goal, and one shorthanded score.
“It’s huge having Marc back at center,’’ said Blake Wheeler, who netted a second-period power-play goal. “It just gives us tremendous depth at our center position. We have four really great centers. When you add a high-scoring, prolific center like Savvy in there, it just adds a different dimension to our team. It gives all four lines more breathing room. You can’t just key on the line that’s playing the best that night. You have to respect all four lines. So having him in there was a big difference tonight. It’s only a matter of time before he starts working his magic.’’
Consider the following: Before Savard’s return, the power play was the second-worst in the league, sputtering along at 13.2 percent. Bergeron and Wheeler both had skated on the first unit. But with Savard back, coach Claude Julien was able to drop Bergeron and Wheeler to the second unit, which netted both power-play goals last night.
In the first period, the No. 2 unit got the Bruins on the board. Chris Mason stopped Bergeron’s initial shot from the slot. But Mark Recchi, positioned at the edge of the crease, whacked the mid-air rebound past Mason at 11:00 to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
