Kalman: Julien Should Save Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson Jackpots For Emergencies, Playoffs
BOSTON (CBS) -- It seems that putting together the line of Chris Kelly, Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson is the equivalent of coach Claude Julien pulling the lever on a slot machine that spits out goals when the dials turn up two Swedes and a Canadian.
Unfortunately, Julien hasn't been able to keep that trio together because he's had to sprinkle the line catalyst Eriksson throughout the lineup, and also get more opportunities for rookie David Pastrnak to flaunt his skills.
Luckily for Julien and the Bruins, they hit the jackpot at the right time Saturday against the New York Islanders.
Although Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand had been his best line through two periods, Julien decided to put his Swedes and Kelly back together. Of course, with 7:34 to play Eriksson scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory at TD Garden.
Eriksson scored the game-winning goal from in front of the net after Kelly made a steal in the neutral zone and combined with Soderberg to get the puck on net.
"It was just a good play by Kells," Eriksson said. "He put it on the net there and we were able to, I think I got a shot first, and it was lying under my feet and I was able to throw it in. So it was nice."
Eriksson's always fast to deflect credit, but he did the yeoman's work to win a battle and get a difficult shot off his backhand past New York goaltender Chad Johnson. The victory was eerily reminiscent of the Bruins' victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 21. Kelly scored a second-period goal on the first shift he played back with Eriksson and Soderberg. Eriksson then scored the overtime game-winner.
"Well yeah I mean, as I mentioned before, I'm going to move parts around when I feel that I need to and then there's some chemistry there for at least a year and a half, almost two years," Julien said. "I didn't feel that we were getting a lot of offense and so I had to move some parts around. Putting them together, I felt confident that they would be able to generate some offense and they did."
The bigger challenge for Julien now will be to decide if Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson will be a permanent line or if he should continue to shuffle things around confident in the knowledge that if he goes back to that trio in a pinch, Eriksson, Kelly and Soderberg will instantly bail the Bruins out.
Eriksson said he hasn't begged Julien to keep him with his countryman and the everyman.
"No, I haven't. We'll see what happens the next game here," Eriksson said. "I'm comfortable to play with Bergy and Marchy too, so we'll see what happens tomorrow night."
Julien want to avoid using up the magic in the Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson combination. He also has to avoid losing Reilly Smith's focus and work ethic. Smith was the big loser in the shuffling Saturday, as the wing wound up on the left side of the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Craig Cunningham. Smith is not going to find the cure for his struggled playing next to the possession destroyer Campbell. For all of his slumps, Smith has to play in a top-nine role to ever benefit the Bruins. The Bruins also have to keep picking their spots for Pastrnak, based on how the teenager is playing, the opposition and whether the Bruins have the first or last change.
There are 30 more games for Julien to figure out his lines for the playoffs. He's been boasting about how all the shuffling is going to pay off in more chemistry should injuries hit in the postseason. He might as well keep the wheels turning and only punch up Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson in emergencies. And then he can ride their magical chemistry in the postseason.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.