With the NHL season briefly pausing to make way for the 4 Nations Face-Off, many teams around the NHL assigned some of their young players to the AHL, allowing them to earn some extra playing time during the break. The Boston Bruins took a similar approach with Matt Poitras, re-assigning him to the AHL on Feb. 9. Since then, the 20-year-old forward has continued to impress, showing no signs of slowing down.
Poitras spent 23 games with the Providence Bruins before this assignment to the AHL, and he scored eight goals and 20 points. In his first game back, Poitras would once again find the back of the net, bringing his total up to 21 points in 24 games and extending his AHL point streak to three games. It isn’t surprising that he continues to be an impact player in the AHL, because even at the NHL level, Poitras has looked right at home this season, providing consistent effort regardless of how he’s been deployed.
When Poitras was returned to Providence in November, many fans were shocked. The Bruins were already showing signs of struggling and the fact that the team was making a change wasn’t necessarily surprising, but Poitras didn’t appear to be the problem. If anything, the problem stemmed from some of the team’s top contributors not living up to expectations—with some effort levels even being discussed early in the year. Poitras excelled during his time in Providence and when he eventually earned a call-up in mid-January, the Ontario native paid dividends with a point in his first game and three points in his first three games back. Since his return to the NHL, Poitras has recorded seven assists in 12 games.
Poitras Shines When He Shoots the Puck
If there’s one area that Poitras can improve at the NHL level, it’s his willingness to shoot the puck on the net. His nine goals in 24 games in the AHL have shown that Poitras has the ability to find the twine, but in the NHL, Poitras has taken one shot or fewer on goal in 20 games, including 11 zero-shot efforts. Poitras is a player who will give it his all with each and every shift, but he also has to trust his ability to create with his shot a little more at the NHL level if he’s going to succeed in the long term.
To put it in perspective, in the six games that Poitras has taken two or more shots this season, he’s recorded one goal and six points. In the 20 games he’s taken one or fewer shots, he’s recorded just five assists. It’s a small sample size, but the trend is maintained if we extend it to last season. In the 21 games he’d record one or fewer shots, he scored just one goal and six points. He scored four goals and nine points in the 12 games he’d record two or more shots.
It’s not an exact science, but if signs indicate that the more active Poitras is with his shot, the better the results are for him on the scoresheet, then he should tap into this and work on being more of a shot-creator when the situation calls for it. This isn’t to say that he should be reckless and shoot just for the sake of shooting, but it means he should perhaps be a little less passive in certain situations and not default immediately to passing the puck when a shot opportunity presents itself. Bruins fans will remember David Krejci, who often faced discussions surrounding his pass-first mentality. While Krejci excelled as a playmaker, there were times when a more assertive shooting mindset could have paid off.
It isn’t out of the question for Poitras to see time on the Bruins first line this season and his play has certainly indicated that he’s worth a consistent look in the spot. He has a great impact on the game even when he’s held off the scoresheet, but he can elevate his game and take the next step if he can consistently find a way to directly convert his effort into points.
With 25 games remaining, the Bruins are sitting just outside the playoff picture, a few points out of the final wildcard spot at the time of this writing. This means the Bruins will need to be at their very best the rest of the way if they’re going to make the postseason and once again compete for the Stanley Cup. Poitras can undoubtedly be part of the solution in both the short and long term in Boston; he just needs to trust his shot more and be given the trust of the coaching staff to get the most out of him.
