Why Bruins should call up top prospects to boost struggling offense

The Boston Bruins cannot score goals on a consistent basis. And this is no longer just a trend. This is who they are.

We're 40 games into the 2024-25 NHL season. That's a pretty good sample size. The Bruins are the fourth-lowest scoring team in the league with 2.58 goals scored per game, and their power play ranks 30th out of 32 teams with a 12.9 percent success rate.

Thursday night's 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden was a familiar one for the Bruins. They outplayed the opponent for long stretches of the game, only to lose because the team couldn't bury its scoring chances.

The B's had a 77-49 edge in shot attempts, a 33-27 lead in shots on net, a 27-23 advantage in scoring chances and produced 11 high-danger chances in all situations against the Rangers. Sure, Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick played fantastic and made some unreal saves. The future Hall of Famer is still capable of brilliance.

But the real story is a lack of finish from the Bruins' forwards.

The Bruins badly need a shakeup offensively. Making a trade for a legit top-six forward would be the preferred upgrade, but the B's don't have many Grade A trade assets, and they also lack salary cap space. Those two factors make finding a workable trade difficult.

So what's the short-term solution? They should call up some of their top prospects from the AHL's Providence Bruins.

They should start with Matthew Poitras. The young center was sent to Providence in November after a tough start in Boston, which wasn't a surprise considering he was working himself back from shoulder surgery last February. Poitras has found his game in the AHL with 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 19 games, including a seven-game goal streak from Dec. 6 through Dec. 18. He played well with the Bruins as a rookie last season, so he's capable of producing versus NHL competition. His offensive skill set is very much needed in Boston right now.

Another option in Providence is Georgii Merkulov. He has 26 points in 28 games for Providence, and he has led the P-Bruins in scoring each of the last two seasons. There's not much more room for improvement in the AHL for him.

It's time to see what he can do against NHL opponents over a long stretch. That last part is key -- each time Merkulov has been summoned to Boston, he barely gets a chance to prove himself. He came up in November and played in three games. He got one call up last season and played in four games. How is he supposed to get in a groove, build some confidence and showcase his skill set while playing in only a handful of games at a time?

Fabian Lysell also deserves another look. He finally made his NHL debut last week in a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Lysell helped set up the game's first goal and was responsible defensively. His fantastic speed, impressive shot and quality playmaking skills are very much needed on this Bruins roster, especially on the power play.

Lysell is the most offensively gifted prospect in the Bruins' system, and it's a little perplexing that he's only played in one game at the NHL level since being drafted in the first round in 2021. He absolutely should get a long run in Boston.

Who would come out of the lineup if one or more of these prospects were called up? There's no shortage of options given how many middle-six and bottom-six forwards are struggling for the Bruins right now.

Marc McLaughlin scored in back-to-back games during the Bruins' long Western Canada road trip in mid-December, but in his last three appearances he has zero points and zero shots. Oliver Wahlstrom was claimed off waivers last month, and in five games he has zero points and just six shots. Mark Kastelic has scored only one goal in his last 30 games. Trent Frederic hasn't tallied a point in 11 straight games. John Beecher hasn't scored since Oct. 16.

These five forwards, and a few others, haven't done enough to be a permanent fixture in the lineup. The Bruins need offensive creativity and speed. Poitras, Merkulov and Lysell can bring some of that to the NHL roster.

It's honestly remarkable that the Bruins are in a playoff spot (third place in the Atlantic Division) as of Friday morning when you consider how bad they have played offensively for large stretches of the campaign.

This team's goal before the season was to not only make the playoffs and win a round, but go further than last season and be a real threat to win the Eastern Conference. It's not insane to suggest that could still happen. Starting goalie Jeremy Swayman could get hot. Maybe the playoff bracket falls the right way, like it did in 2019. But a deep postseason run won't happen with the current roster because there's just not enough offensive skill.

Changes must happen. It's time to bring up the kids and see what they can do.