Geekie has proven to be tough to beat up front
Brad Marchand ran into Morgan
Geekie early last fall. The captain didn’t like it.
Marchand found out then what Bruins opponents are finding out now: Geekie is one tough customer.
“I thought [strength] was an asset of his game. I didn’t know he was as strong as he is though,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Monday, prior to his club scoring a 4-1 win over the Jets at TD Garden. “I was talking with Marchy the other day and he said he didn’t know how strong he was. He tried to run him over in training camp or early in the season and he goes, ‘He’s farm boy strong.’ ”
Geekie takes that characterization as a compliment.
A first-year Bostonian, the Strathclair, Manitoba-bred Geekie has become an invaluable member of Montgomery’s forward group, splitting time between center and wing, and specializing in getting to — and excelling in — the dirty areas. The 6-foot-3-inch, 202pounder is wiry strong, enabling him to win net-front battles and those scrums along the boards. He uses a combination of strength, balance, and leverage to win puck battles, often against multiple opponents.
For example, on Danton Heinen’s first goal in Saturday’s win over the Canadiens, defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk were credited with assists, but the biggest helper came from Geekie, who pinned the puck along the boards and held off several pursuers to eventually get the puck to McAvoy at the blue line.
“I think the whole goal is attributed to what he did, right? He hung on to the puck, won probably three one-on-one battles in that sequence, and the longer you make people defend, the more mistakes they’re going to make,” Montgomery noted. “And I did like the way our three forwards won races to hard areas, and we ended up getting rewarded with the goal.”
For Geekie, those clashes have been a staple in his game for a long time.
“It’s something I kind of took pride in, even as a kid, that was one of the only times I felt like I could ever win a one-on-three when I was younger,” Geekie said. “So, just being able to protect pucks like that, something that I feel like is a skill that a lot of people work to have, and I felt like I’ve always kind of had that. Obviously, you play against bigger, stronger guys, you’ve got to hone that skill a little bit and I think I had a few growing pains in the last few years with it, but I’ve kind of grown into myself and figured out what works and what doesn’t here. So yeah, just something that is a skill that I’m lucky to have. I like working on it too, so it’s good.”
As important as the physical skills are, Geekie noted that awareness and experience are critical assets when it comes to puck possession.
“I think a big one is just knowing where the puck is and where you can keep it and where you can’t,” he said. “I think I’m good at being up against the wall back when I was a little more lanky and uncoordinated, I got stuck against the wall a lot, so I’d figure out ways to win it back. So, I think finally remembering where I have the puck and where I can get away with things is good. And then when you can add strength and size into that and win battles, it definitely helps for sure.”
Through 40 games as a Bruin, Geekie, who signed a two-year, $4 million free agent deal, has 8 goals and 23 points after contributing an assist on the opening goal against the Jets. Originally drafted by the Hurricanes, Geekie was plucked by the Kraken in the expansion draft and was a regular in Seattle the last two seasons.
Reminded of Marchand’s farm boy comment, Geekie smiled and nodded.
“I wasn’t the strongest kid growing up, but I think I put a lot of work in and just the mentality, even coming from the community I come from, you see that with how we’re raised and things like that, it’s kind of just something that everyone has,” he said. “So, I’m lucky enough to come from a community where I know everybody, and I could go back home and see somebody on the street and call them by name. So, it’s definitely a compliment and I take it to heart for sure.”
Pastrnak’s No. 2 star turn
David Pastrnak was named the NHL’s second star of the week after the All-Star right winger put up 5 goals and 7 points, including his 16th career regular-season hat trick in a win over the Avalanche, in three games.
Pastrnak has played in all 46 games and leads the Bruins in goals (30) and assists (37). He also has a plus-12 rating.
Swayman steps up again
Jeremy Swayman was in net again vs. the Jets and made 20 saves to improve to 6-1-3 in his last 10 outings. He’ll likely get the start Thursday in Ottawa before heading to his first All-Star Game next week in Toronto . . . Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was back in the lineup after a one-game absence, taking the place of Kevin Shattenkirk
. . . Song of the night: “Buffalo Stance,” by (sorry, Mafia).