On the latest episode of Bruins Beat, Evan Marinofsky of the New England Hockey Journal teams up with Boston.com's Conor Ryan to dive into the Bruins' recent home-and-home series with Columbus, analyzing key takeaways and what it means moving forward. They also discuss the team’s plans for Fabian Lysell and the potential direction for his development. Adding a fun twist, Evan and Conor explore incorporating GTA into the podcast, while also highlighting Morgan Geekie’s impressive scoring streak and his impact on the Bruins’ lineup.
Topics:
- What to make of the Bruins home-and-home with Columbus
- Lysell comes up...and goes back down
- What are they doing with him?
- Evan and Conor are going to incorporate GTA into their podcasts
- Morgan Geekie can't stop scoring
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Topics:
- What to make of the Bruins home-and-home with Columbus
- Lysell comes up...and goes back down
- What are they doing with him?
- Evan and Conor are going to incorporate GTA into their podcasts
- Morgan Geekie can't stop scoring
💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Bruins Beat is brought to you by PrizePix and the Game Time app.
00:07And welcome into the Bruins Beat presented by PrizePix.
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00:24Terms apply.
00:25I am Evan Marinovsky.
00:26That is Connor Ryan.
00:27Connor, what is up?
00:29Evan.
00:30I'm doing well.
00:31How are you doing?
00:32Doing great.
00:33Doing great.
00:34We're recording this on a Sunday.
00:35Sunday afternoon.
00:36Kind of like Sunday night.
00:39Early Sunday night.
00:40No Patriots today.
00:41No Bruins.
00:42There was some Bruins news we'll get to in a second.
00:45We'll start with Bruins get a 4-0 win over Columbus after a horrible game on Friday.
00:54Both teams lay an egg in the other team's barn.
00:57Feels like that's the only way the Bruins play the Blue Jackets this year.
01:00They either get crushed or they crush them.
01:04Good start.
01:05Good physicality.
01:06Good win.
01:07I still go back to this, Connor.
01:10Nah.
01:11Nah.
01:12Yeah.
01:13No.
01:14I agree.
01:15Same boat as you.
01:16I mean, it'd be one thing if they just took care of business.
01:19That's why it's so frustrating about this team in terms of, you know, chatting out or
01:23making any sweeping conclusion as to what this team is, right?
01:26Because how much better do you feel about this team, especially after that really dominant
01:30win against the Capitals?
01:32You have that win, you hold into 11 shots on goal, and then let's push ahead a little
01:38bit and not focus on them getting their doors blown off on Friday, but let's say they just
01:43take care of business.
01:44Doesn't mean they don't have to dominate the Blue Jackets, but say they win 3-2.
01:50Professional win.
01:51Hell, they win in overtime.
01:52Who cares?
01:53They win.
01:54And then you have a game like Saturday where, again, a nice professional performance where
01:57take care of business, win 4-0, hold Columbus to 18 shots on goal.
02:02You have guys contribute up and down the lineup.
02:04You have Lysell, gives a little bit of energy there, and we'll talk quite a bit about him
02:07moving forward.
02:08Oh, boy, will we.
02:09Yes.
02:10But, like, you got, you know, Swayman not overly taxed, but made necessary saves, got
02:14the shutout.
02:15Pasanac with a goal.
02:16I think Lora had a good bounce back game.
02:19Kepke's score.
02:20Like, a lot going right, and you feel good about that.
02:23But you can't ignore what sandwiched in between there, which was a complete dud on Friday.
02:29And that's why it's so frustrating, right?
02:31Quite literally a shit sandwich.
02:33Pretty much, yes.
02:34And that's why it's so tough to draw any conclusions or how you feel about this team, because I
02:39feel like the vibes were back up after going into the holiday break with that Capitals
02:44win.
02:45And then it's just, you know, doesn't matter how you bookend it with this win on Saturday,
02:49like, you still have a complete no-show performance.
02:53And I was talking about it with Ty as we're recapping the game on Friday.
02:57That felt like even, like, the worst out of these multiple blowouts, because, like, they've
03:00been blown out by Winnipeg and Carolina and Dallas.
03:05And a lot of those are, like, multiple D-zone breakdowns or multiple, like, saves that you
03:10want to have back.
03:11Like, it's been a mix of both in some of those matchups.
03:13The Columbus game on Friday was just you getting, like, your shit rocked.
03:16Like, it was, like, 15 to 4 high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five play.
03:21It's not even counting the three power play goals Columbus had.
03:24So, like, again, this is probably just sweeping this game on Saturday under the rug.
03:29But, like, yeah, it's a good win.
03:30Like, it's a team you should beat.
03:32And it's good that they did that.
03:33It's good they didn't snowball, right?
03:34Like, it's good you didn't, like, take another step backwards.
03:38But, man, like, you'd be feeling so much better about this team and the way they played if
03:42all of a sudden they were going into a tough matchup on New Year's Eve against the Capitals
03:47on the road, but with a, what would it have been, a five-game win streak and some really
03:51dominant performances in there, right?
03:53Like, especially with the last time you played Washington, like, that's why it's so tough.
03:57Like, good on the result, good for them to bounce back, good for a lot of guys, both
04:01star players and depth players, to step up.
04:03It's all well and good, but, you know, I feel like we're not going to be able to have any
04:07sweeping conclusions and, hell, we probably, maybe we won't even have that until the season's
04:14over.
04:15I feel like until, like, the middle of January, where they've got a really tough schedule
04:19and you play Florida and Tampa and a couple of these really, really tough teams, you know,
04:25over multiple times pretty much over January, you're not going to have any takeaways as
04:30to what exactly this team is right now.
04:32They're just up and down, tough to really gauge what you're getting out of them every
04:35single night.
04:37It's funny, like, you even look at the stretch coming up, you have Washington, you got the
04:40Rangers who are in complete free fall, but they should be so much better than they are.
04:45Like, that's the problem.
04:46You have Toronto, then you have the Islanders who are whatever, then you have Edmonton,
04:49then you have Tampa.
04:50And then Florida.
04:51And then Florida.
04:52Florida after that, like, you've got a lot more tough games.
04:54And then Tampa again.
04:55And then Tampa again, and it just goes on and on in January, and I, like, that's the
04:59tough thing.
05:00And I said this when I did my solo Bruins beat on Saturday.
05:04I mentioned, you know, in that 22-23 season, I don't think they ever lost, like, three
05:10or four games in a row.
05:11They never even lost four games in a stretch of seven games during the regular season.
05:15So it was sort of like, I don't see this team losing in the playoffs that much.
05:20Like, they just have taken care of business all year.
05:22I expect it to continue.
05:23This year is the complete opposite.
05:25It's like, I, like, they can't really string much of anything together.
05:29Maybe this is the year that they actually do it in the playoffs.
05:33But there's no faith in that.
05:34And that's why, like, you know, yeah, it's nice to be Columbus for nothing on Saturday,
05:39but you should be Columbus for nothing.
05:41You should do what you did.
05:42You shouldn't have that game like you had on Friday.
05:45You know, that Washington game, as you said, was great.
05:47A really good step in the right direction.
05:49We talked about, you know, is this the best win of the season?
05:52And it just feels and and to Sacco's credit, they've done this less since Joe Sacco took
05:57over.
05:58But that whole, like, you know, two steps forward, two steps back.
06:01This is more two steps forward, one step back, and they sort of just trip over themselves
06:05the worst times.
06:07And I just the rest of the conference is doing the same thing.
06:11Yeah.
06:12They're not falling out of the playoff race or anything like they have.
06:15They have benefited from what was it on Saturday night?
06:17The Bruins win.
06:18Take care of business.
06:19And like Bordeaux got, like, shut out by Montreal, I think Toronto lost Ottawa, lost like every
06:25team pretty much.
06:26And then, of course, as a tradition, Tampa is on their siesta once again, like they just
06:31refused to play games.
06:32They played like approximately 15 games this year.
06:35So like everyone else that is either ahead of them or right behind them have have lost.
06:39Like even when the Bruins have these judges where they stumble, like as of last time I
06:43checked, which I think was this morning, like the standings, there's still two points behind
06:47both Toronto and Florida.
06:49Like they're right in the tide.
06:50Which is, again, crazy when you look at just how up and down this team has been and goes
06:55to, I think, what has been a talking point every single time I've been on this podcast
06:58with you, Evan, is like, how much different would this team be with like one or two wins,
07:04one or two better performances from Jeremy Swayman and like three or four more goals
07:08from David Pasternak?
07:09Like, this dude would be like first in the East or they'd be first in the Atlantic for
07:13sure.
07:14It's crazy.
07:15Yeah, I don't understand it.
07:16And I also think, you know, you mentioned like Pasternak, you get good goal tending
07:19from Swayman.
07:21But I also think you do the other side of it, where it's like if Toronto and Florida
07:25just did what they were supposed to do and you have teams like, you know, Tampa and Ottawa
07:30who are a little bit better and, you know, the rest of the conference picking up the
07:34slack, even the Metro, like if the Bruins then fell into the wildcard spot and they
07:38were out, like both the wildcards now are Atlantic teams.
07:41So imagine if the Metro was just doing its job and the Bruins fall in, you know, fall
07:44out of that third spot in the Atlantic and suddenly they're just out of the playoffs.
07:47So you have that too.
07:49Like it's such a weird year and it's hard to gauge.
07:52And I think, you know, we, we always talk sort of, I think this time of the year we
07:55talk about the trade deadline and, and what's the plan there and what are they going to
08:00do?
08:01I mean, they're going to be a playoff team, likely, like if this continues, they're going
08:06to be a playoff team.
08:07The roster certainly should be like, what do you do with the deadline?
08:12And that's why I think you're right.
08:13This stretch coming up is so important to kind of figure that out.
08:17But I think if the same thing happened, like would it shock you if in this stretch they're
08:21hovering around 500 throughout that, that time?
08:25No, no, no.
08:26Wouldn't at all.
08:27That's what, that's what they project to do.
08:29You know, like you, I mean, you can go through, like if they beat the caps on new year's,
08:32they'll find a way to lose to the Rangers and they, you know, then they'll beat Toronto
08:36and they'll beat the Islanders.
08:37Then they'll lose to Edmonton and they might lose to tan.
08:39It's just going to kind of, it's like a ship just going back and forth.
08:42And so if they can find a way to roll through all those games and come out, you know, five,
08:48one in one or something, then, okay.
08:50It's a different story here.
08:51You know, maybe you trade your, uh, your first for a guy with a ton of term.
08:56Like, you know, you go all in for like a Dylan Larkin.
08:57I don't know how you're going to get him, but maybe that, uh, whereas if it's the complete
09:01opposite of that, I just, you know, you're out of it.
09:05So I just, I would expect them to go around 500 cause that's what they've done all year.
09:09That's what they've done all year.
09:11Um, but, uh, I want to get into Fabian Lysel cause this, this, everyone's talking about
09:16this.
09:17This has everybody going.
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10:10I'd also say just in terms of, uh, you know, this sort of this time of year, right?
10:16The Patriots are out of it.
10:18Who cares what they do?
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11:00So Fabian Lysell comes up, basically gets an assist on that first goal.
11:05They took it away.
11:06Pretty much gets an assist.
11:08Plays a good part in it.
11:09Uh, doesn't play much of any of the third period in a game.
11:13The Bruins are comfortably ahead and get sent down on Sunday.
11:18Get sent back out.
11:19Now at the time of recording, we don't know if this is a paper transaction or not.
11:23Sounds crazy that they would bring them up just to put them right back down for one game.
11:30But this is what we have in front of us.
11:32We're going to bring them up, play them at the start.
11:35Don't play a much in the end and send them back down.
11:40We've talked a lot about his value not being there throughout the, throughout the last
11:44couple of years, overvaluing what he would be in a trade, what he could be at the NHL
11:49level.
11:50But you want to see what you got.
11:51And if they are sending him down and not bringing him back, I don't understand what they're
11:55doing with that at all.
11:57Yeah.
11:58Yeah.
11:59No, I agree.
12:00Right.
12:01Like it's something that even as you said, uh, he doesn't get the assist on that play,
12:03but he pretty much makes it happen.
12:05Like preso chips, the puck up and it's like selling his skating ability.
12:08You know, he slips past two Columbus skaters, projects the puck down low.
12:12Like again, a guy that is known for not really being, you know, uh, a physical player, a
12:18guy that, you know, has gone through his facial or bumps and bruises while dealing with contact,
12:23you know, especially even at the AHL level, held his own, moved the puck up, got it to
12:27Breslau, starts a load of high play leads to a Breslau rebound goal.
12:31Like again, doesn't score, but did the dirty work really to get something out of that line.
12:37And I think what the most puzzling thing with it, if it is the case where Lysel is sent
12:42down and it's tough, right?
12:44We won't know until probably Monday at practice, whether Lysel is still up with the team, you
12:48would think it's a paper transaction, but the Bruins also don't usually like send us
12:52like releases and like they post a graphic of a guy getting sent down if it's not like
12:57a paper transaction.
12:58Cause like there's plenty of times if you want to like look at like the waiver wires
13:01where guys or like the player, you know, the NHL transaction page, there's plenty of times
13:05where guys go up and down and they don't announce it and it's part of, you know, banking cap
13:08space, those kinds of things that happens all the time.
13:12If you know, if you follow those like bots that just tweet out like the, the transaction
13:16pages and stuff like that, you'd be losing your mind when guys do go up and down.
13:22So if it is just that that's all well and good, because if it is something where they
13:27send him down after one game, it's puzzling, right?
13:29Cause one, you want to give this guy an extended run.
13:32Um, even if he doesn't, you know, it wasn't a perfect night, he didn't have any shots
13:36on goal played 11 minutes again, as you said, didn't play a whole lot of the third period,
13:40but I'd like to see that guy continue to see what you can do up here.
13:43Like he was noticeable, which I think my issue is like, all right, if he was like, let's
13:49say filling in for a guy in the top six, like geeky got banged up or something and they
13:54bring up Lysel for a game.
13:55Okay.
13:56He's not probably going to put him in a top six spot for the long haul.
13:59At least that's not what the Bruins do.
14:01Right.
14:02Like out of the gate.
14:03But like if, if he's replacing Oliver Wallstrom and like that Brezzo Frederick Wallstrom line
14:10has given you absolutely nothing for the last couple of games, like zero, nothing, absolutely
14:17nothing like does not hurt at all to bring in a guy like Lysel and see what he can do
14:21there.
14:22Um, yeah, confusing if it is the case where he is sent back down to Providence because
14:29I just look at, it's not just Lysel and the promise that he has and the fact that he did
14:33show you something and did contribute to, you know, setting you off to an early lead
14:38in that game.
14:39Um, and I think there's the appeal of his speed and his skill, um, which the Bruins
14:44upfront do not have a whole lot of, when you look at the rest of their roster, but beyond
14:48that, it's the personnel you have in place beyond Lysel.
14:52Like, so we're just going to go back to the Brezzo Frederick Wallstrom line.
14:56Like I'm all for giving Lysel at the very least like a five games, uh, stretch here
15:00to see what he can do.
15:01Right.
15:02Like, and it goes back to what we've said, especially with, you know, this team not giving
15:06their younger players a long leash.
15:09Like you had Mirkula up here for a couple of games.
15:11Didn't make much of an impact.
15:12Sure.
15:13But look at last year when Mirkula called up and was playing like fourth line minutes,
15:16eight minutes a night.
15:18And again, like they, the Bruins say like, yes, we need guys to be, you know, better
15:22in their own end, you know, make smart plays with the puck on their stick through like,
15:27but also there's, I think the purpose of letting guys, you know, take their lumps or, or try
15:32and fail up at this level.
15:34If they're guys you want to build around, like Mason Laurie has not had a perfect year
15:37at all.
15:38He makes his mistakes.
15:39Look at that.
15:40Look at that game in Columbus.
15:41There was quite a few plays where you're like, Ooh, what is going on with those gaps or those
15:45reads or stuff like that?
15:47But the Bruins stick with him because he see his potential and he rebounds and has a really
15:51strong night.
15:52It has, it was a plus four, hadn't had the assist on Brazos goal and bounce back.
15:57If you're a young player, you're going to go through those peaks and valleys.
16:00So I don't see why that same line of thinking can't translate to a guy like Lyselle who
16:05you still don't know what you really have in him.
16:07Is he a guy that could be a 20 goal scorer?
16:09Is he a Studnica or these guys that can't stick at the NHL level?
16:13We won't know until you find out.
16:16I don't think you're going to get any sort of answer if you don't give him at least a
16:19couple of games, see what he can do.
16:21I'm all for it.
16:22You bring him down to the capitals.
16:24That's a tough team.
16:25That's really aggressive on the four check, really active sticks.
16:27If he's not on top of his game, Lyselle, and he does play, he's going to get smoked.
16:31He's going to get his pocket picked and it could lead to a bad chance.
16:35I'd rather see that than not give him the opportunity to see what he can do because
16:39he could be a guy that could be a liability with a puck on a stick against a team like
16:43Washington or he could go end to end and give you a goal that you desperately need
16:46against a team like Washington.
16:47Like, let's find out, let's see what he can do.
16:49Yeah.
16:50I also, I just, you know, whether or not it's a paper transaction, you also just look at
16:54his usage in Saturday's game, not playing much in the third period.
16:58Bruins are up three, nothing on the blue jackets.
17:00I know they lost the night before six to two, but like Columbus is also on the second night
17:05of a back to back.
17:06They're running the away building.
17:07They're down three goals, showcase the kid.
17:10Let's see what he's gotten in a third period like that.
17:13Like we always, uh, my dad and I used to joke, uh, when I was like a sophomore on the varsity
17:18team, we'd only play if we were getting blown out or if the other team was getting blown
17:22out.
17:23It was garbage time minutes.
17:24And Lysel obviously is more than garbage time minutes, but like, that's a great spot to
17:28play the kid in, throw them out there, see what you got, see what you got in him.
17:32And I don't know what the reasoning was behind him not playing a lot in the third period.
17:36There's something more than just matchups or things like that.
17:39Um, but I, I was also puzzled by that.
17:42I didn't understand why that kid wasn't out there, um, you know, for a good or more time,
17:47at least in the third period.
17:49And you mentioned that line with Brazil and, and, um, and Frederick and Brazil had a goal
17:54obviously in, in Friday's game, had a goal or excuse me, in a Saturday's game, and then
17:58had a goal, um, on Monday against the caps, uh, other than that, his production has dried
18:06up over the last month or so.
18:08He was someone that actually produced a lot when they were terrible, um, but has since
18:12sort of found his level and his sort of come back to earth Trent Frederick though.
18:18So this was made, this came to my attention because someone tweeted out like Trent Frederick
18:22is just in like doing public skate, which, you know, that's mean, come on.
18:27Uh, but like, I don't know if they're fully wrong since that two goal game against Philly
18:33on December 7th, zero points, nothing, just nothing, a couple shots, like just not giving
18:42you much.
18:44And I do, you know, for a kid like Lysell who comes up, is that, I know we talk about
18:49the Bruins are not going to put him on the first or second line right off the jump, but
18:54like putting him with them, is that optimizing Lysell enough?
18:59I mean, what did on the first shift that worked, but I don't know.
19:03Like clearly that third line, right wing spot or third line wing in general, because you
19:08can put someone on the left side and Brazil on the right side is a place to bring someone
19:12up and put them in.
19:13But like, is that the spot for Lysell either?
19:15I mean, it, it's the same argument you have with like when Patra never really gets called
19:20up, right.
19:21And why I've been like, man, it's so, it'd be so interesting to see what he could do
19:24like between Zaka and pasta, but I just know they're not going to do it because like, it's
19:29a whole thing.
19:30Like Patra is playing at such a high level down in Providence.
19:33He's got almost a point per game the last, uh, you know, three weeks now pretty much.
19:37And he's feeling good, confident about his game.
19:39Then you go up here and you've got guys that aren't really finishing plays between Frederick
19:43and, um, you know, take your pick Wallstrom, what have you?
19:47It's like, I think that is the, the big challenge for any one of these younger players.
19:52But by the same token, you can be like, all right, well, that's why you need guys like
19:56Lysell and Patra up here, because maybe they, you know, the onus is put on them to make
20:01things happen.
20:03Like maybe those are the guys that with their skill and their, you know, ability to skate
20:06and make plays.
20:07Um, maybe they do draw more out of guys like Frederick or Brezo or Wallstrom, what have
20:13you, right?
20:14Like Wallstrom's got a good shot.
20:15You haven't really seen it that much, but like if a guy like Patra setting them up,
20:18maybe that opens up for him.
20:20So, um, it's, it is kind of like the chicken and the egg, right.
20:23In terms of how best to fix that third line and what they're trying to get out of that
20:29group.
20:30I think it's important for that third line to start clicking in some capacity.
20:32I think you've seen progress out of the top six recently with Geeky, uh, Zaka, Pasternak
20:39and Marsha and Wintome Coyle.
20:41Like those lines have, I think, improved.
20:43I don't think it's your ideal top six grouping that you were expecting going into the year,
20:47but, um, they're at least giving you something night in and night out.
20:50I think that's productive.
20:52That third line, you need to find some sort of cohesion to get going here and tell you
20:55But like if the chips fall where they are and by some, you know, you get to the second
21:00half of the year and Patra and Lysel are who, you know, click down in Providence, like during
21:05their time together down there, if they're two thirds of your third line going into the
21:09second half of the year and they're finding their footing.
21:13Two young, talented guys that if, if they were, couldn't give you some skill and score
21:17and further down the lineup, that'd be pretty intriguing.
21:20I think if you're the Bruins, but got to give them a chance, got to give them a chance.
21:23And if you want to go see that, you got to go to our friends over at game time because
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22:36Connor, what time is it?
22:37A game time.
22:38It's a game time.
22:39When I did this by myself on Saturday, I had to do that all by myself.
22:44I was like, like in my own room, just, you know, saying like game time, like into my
22:49mic.
22:50I felt like I'm talking to myself and I'm doing, I mean, listen, game time is so good
22:53with all their great deals that like you get by the time you're done with the ad read,
22:56you fire it up anyway.
22:57Right?
22:58Oh yeah.
22:59Yeah.
23:00You know what?
23:01It's funny.
23:02Game time has ads that get you fired up.
23:03You know, where else has ads that get you completely fired up and they're not a rival
23:07of either game time or price pick so we can mention them.
23:10I always hear them advertise on the radio.
23:13You ever heard a top dog law commercial?
23:17I can't say I have Evan now.
23:18Oh man.
23:19They, they like fire you up like they want.
23:22They make me want to get in a car accident.
23:25So I call them their injury lawyers.
23:27Evan's going to boot up GTA five and just drive his like cramped.
23:31I bought GTA five yesterday.
23:33Actually I want to go to the story mode before six comes out because I never did the story
23:37mode when I was younger because I'm an idiot.
23:39The story is like elite, isn't it?
23:41Yes, of course.
23:42I'm more of a doing bad years later.
23:44Yeah, I know.
23:45I'm more of a GTA four San Andreas kind of guy, but I will be along with everyone else
23:51getting GTA six when it does drop, going to get a new console first, but well, it's going
23:56to be like a hundred thousand gigabytes.
23:58I mean, that thing is going to be a lot huge.
24:01So yeah, you're right.
24:02I'm going to have to get like outside storage or something or a new brand new, new Xbox.
24:07We're going to be so addicted to it that we're going to be doing like the live streams of
24:10like GTA.
24:11We're going to like talk Bruins, but it's going to be us like doing a GTA live stream
24:15at the same time.
24:16We are talking about calling up Fabian Lysel as like as for like crashing.
24:21We're doing like a demolition derby as we're robbing a bank.
24:25Yes, I there is like something to be said for that, though.
24:28I like I remember there was a thing on I think it was tick tock where they would read like
24:32Reddit stories like whether they're scary or whatever.
24:35And in the background, just be someone racing in GTA like that is a thing like we could
24:39just have gameplay going on in the background.
24:42So like our age group, you can't just watch two people talk.
24:46They've also got to watch like a video game as they listen to someone else talk.
24:50Of course, I think that'd be sensory overload for me, too.
24:53I think I'd be so swept up in like trying to like pick a lock in GTA that you talk.
24:57You ask me like, is this the time they call up Lysel and have no idea what you're talking
25:00about?
25:01I'd be so enraptured in the game.
25:02So we can do them separate.
25:04We can do it at separate times.
25:05We'll do you know, we'll do this and then we'll go play some GTA and get some good footage
25:09when it comes out.
25:11There are people that would love that.
25:12There are people that would absolutely hate it.
25:14Morgan Geeky.
25:15See, they're not just like Morgan Geeky and like we're flying that we're stealing a helicopter
25:19from the airport.
25:22Morgan Geeky has been hot, been red hot for a while.
25:25And I talked about this on Saturday.
25:28I have him as sort of my most overlooked and underappreciated player so far this year.
25:34We've talked a lot about him not being a real top six guy, but he is producing like one.
25:39And even like in that game against Columbus on Friday when they lost that soccer goal,
25:44he doesn't get an assist on, but that's a great four check.
25:46He forces the turnover.
25:48And we've seen that where he's good on the cycle.
25:50And is he the most skilled guys are going to set them up every time?
25:53No, but he does finish chances.
25:54And I think he has 10 points in December now after after Saturday's game.
26:01So I just, you know, he's someone that since the coaching change, I think you can lump
26:05him in with the door off with Elias Lindholm has been much better.
26:09And you've needed that, whether it's I don't see them trading him at this point because
26:13he is giving you legitimate value.
26:17But I do wonder, like he is getting his stock back up, whether that's for a trade or a contract.
26:23And you're on the good end of it because he's helping you win games.
26:26Yeah.
26:27I mean, he's got seven goals, 12 points in his last 15 games now.
26:30And I think for him, it comes down to just and it's something I think hurt this team
26:35early on this year.
26:36It's like getting your confidence and finding an identity.
26:39And I think on that top on that top line that he's with.
26:41And yes, like you can look at his skill set or his resume and be like, that's not a top
26:45line guy.
26:46But he knows what he needs to do to be successful on that line of being the guy that plays like
26:51around the goal line is kind of an underrated physical player.
26:55I think he was like second on the team and hits last year and like does a lot of dirty
26:58work for two skilled players in Zaka and Pasternak.
27:02As you said, he doesn't get the assist, but sets up Zaka's goal in Columbus, plays a big
27:07hit, gets the puck back.
27:09And I think in terms of the confidence, like he does have a pretty underrated shot.
27:12And I think you saw that like with his goal against Columbus, right, where just a little
27:17bit of time and space.
27:18And instead of hesitating or looking for the extra pass or doing what a lot of his teammates
27:22have done this year, sees an opportunity, rips a puck past Tarasov and gets the goal.
27:27And so I think that's a guy that if he's not confident, he doesn't feel like, you know,
27:32where his feet are in terms of where he is in the lineup, maybe he doesn't take that
27:35shot.
27:36But I think now that he's settled into that role, feeling good about his game, you're
27:39seeing the results play out.
27:40And I think that's something that you're hoping that other guys kind of, you know, follow
27:45along with in terms of just, I think the confidence and knowing what he has to do night in, night
27:49out on that line can pay dividends.
27:52And I think that's also probably why Gallagher has benefited because under Joe Sacco, the
27:57Bruins have not had the same amount of lineup reshuffling that you saw into Montgomery.
28:02Geeky kind of knows where he is night in, night out.
28:04It's not like Geeky who's scratched and then on the third line and then maybe gets a period
28:09up with Pasternak, but then he's bumped down again.
28:11Like now all of a sudden you're getting that cohesion, feeling more confident about your
28:15game, what you need to do.
28:18And I think that has also paid dividends of just that consistency, settling in, knowing
28:22what you have to do with that grouping.
28:25And I think it has paid off for a guy like him that, as you said, is one of those guys
28:29you can put with Lindholms, a door off a couple others that I think have really kind
28:33of found their game and it just been more consistent and confident, I think is the biggest
28:37things that as why he's been a solid player of these last month plus.
28:42Yeah.
28:43I, I, Montgomery was not good with moving those guys around a ton and just couldn't,
28:49they could never create chemistry.
28:51And you're right.
28:52I mean, that, that's been the big thing.
28:54He's been, you know, sort of just stapled to Zaka and Pasternak.
29:00And we, and it's funny when they were really struggling for five on five score and we talked
29:02about, Hey, just put Marchand with Zaka and Pasternak and put together, you know, the
29:05closest thing you have to a super line or do Lindholm with Marchand and Pasternak and
29:11do it that way.
29:13But this has sort of worked.
29:14I mean, they, like, you know, we, we rag, we ragged on them at the beginning with like
29:18sort of, you know, Hey, we don't really know what this team is.
29:22They're inconsistent.
29:23They're starting to score more.
29:26And they, I mean, since Sacco took over, they have won the majority of their games.
29:31Obviously there was the, the bad ones against Columbus, Winnipeg, and what was the other
29:38one?
29:39Winnipeg.
29:40Dallas.
29:41Dallas.
29:42Yes.
29:43Wait, no, no.
29:44I'm saying since Sacco took over Dallas and Carolina, it was Winnipeg.
29:48And what was the game right after Winnipeg or before it?
29:51Oh, Seattle.
29:52Seattle.
29:53Okay.
29:54Winnipeg, Seattle, and, um, and, and Columbus, but they've won the, I was, I was, uh, I was
29:58hijacking cars and GTA.
30:01You had, you were Franklin for a second there.
30:04Yes.
30:05Um, but I, I do.
30:06I think that, you know, they've, they've been mostly positive.
30:10They've been mostly positive.
30:11There've been negatives.
30:12There's stuff where you watch and you're like, how the hell does that happen?
30:15Because their game is predicated on defense.
30:18They're a defensive team.
30:20It's compete.
30:21It's will.
30:22It's those little things.
30:23But they're not a team.
30:24That's like, oh, great.
30:25They ran into a hot goalie.
30:27That happens sometimes, but it's not like, oh, they, you know, their skill didn't win
30:30out tonight.
30:31They're not an overly skilled team.
30:32They're not going to snipe a bunch of goals.
30:35They're going to beat you three, one, four, two.
30:37We've talked about this.
30:38They win ugly games.
30:39And that's, what's infuriating is like, where is that effort every night?
30:43Sometimes it's not going to be there, but I don't think they're really in a position
30:45to not have it be there.
30:47Um, so interesting, uh, going forward.
30:51Um, Connor, what can people look forward to from you over at the globe at boston.com?
30:56Yeah, we'll have you covered every step of the way over at boston.com.
30:59The Boston Globe will have a recaps, features, columns, breakdowns, all that good stuff over
31:05at boston.com and the Boston Globe.
31:06So please read me over there.
31:07And if you want to follow me on Twitter, X, whatever it's called, you can at Connor Ryan
31:11underscore 93.
31:13Go do all that.
31:15That's Connor Ryan.
31:16I'm F. Marinovsky, Burbs Beat Listers.
31:17Have a great rest of your week.