BOSTON – It was Danton Heinen who got the ball rolling for the Bruins offense Tuesday night in the 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild and the B’s could use a lot more from him moving forward. Heinen had struggled mightily with just four goals in his first 40 games after scoring 16 goals as a rookie last season.
Heinen got to the front of the net and managed to get a tip on a John Moore shot from the point to push the puck past Minnesota backup goalie Alex Stalock to kick off a three-goal outburst. That kind of secondary scoring is exactly what was so inconsistent for the Bruins in the first half of the season.
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Perhaps it can catapult Heinen moving forward for a B's team that badly needs diversified scoring.
“We’re having contributions from everyone right now and the fourth line is kind of leading the way with that and they’ve been great,” said Brad Marchand. “Even tonight, Heino [Danton Heinen] getting a big goal early on to kind of get us going and that’s what we need. We need everyone to chip in. Different nights, we’re getting different guys stepping up and being big for our group.”
Some of that was about young players not playing to offensive expectations and some of it was injuries that have picked at the B’s overall performance. Heinen certainly is part of the first issue for the Black and Gold and the hope is that the patience shown in him will start paying off with more goals and points in the second half.
“We played downhill, so I think that was a big key. We got some breaks around the front of the net. I think we earned them. We got to the front. [Minnesota] is a good, defensive, slot-coverage team, very good there,” said Bruce Cassidy. “So, you have to get to the top of the crease and, like I said, a few went our way.
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“But by the same token, we were able to get there, get pucks there. So, I thought, especially Danton’s [Heinen], was a real good start for us and good for that line.”
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Certainly the Heinen, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Ryan Donato “kid line” could use some confident starts and offensive boosts, and Heinen himself could use a hot streak while on pace for just 10 goals and 21 points this season. A little more production in the second half could mitigate some of the B’s need to go outside the organization for a trade to soup up their third line, but it remains to be seen if Heinen can be that guy.
He showed he’s capable of it last season. Now, it’s up to him to step up and start playing with a little more consistency and a lot more playmaking and production.
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