How Marco Sturm Changed Bruins Culture In Year 1 | Poke The Bear

How Marco Sturm Changed Bruins Culture In Year 1 | Poke The Bear

Poke the Bear is brought to you by Prize Pix. >> And welcome into Poke the Bear, presented by Prize Pix. Go use that promo code CLNS to [music] get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. And a friendly reminder to make sure to [music] subscribe to Bruins Ringside on YouTube. We're doing stuff all the time. This isn't live, unfortunately. Sorry everybody. It's a tight window we have here on a Wednesday morning. Connor's like, "Evan, I'm only giving you 10 minutes, so we got to, you know, we got to go quick here. He's got things >> lightning round. >> Lightning round. Um, but we will do uh some live stuff probably the end of the week and then obviously as things go forward next week. We always have podcast, Poke the Bear, Pucks with Hags, Brews Beat. And then if you are driving or you don't want to watch us and you just want to listen, there's Apple, there's Spotify, there's Podbe, there's wherever your podcast from, subscribe to us there. And of course, lots of other great stuff. Patriots Press Pass, Celtics All Access, those channels are doing fantastic work. Especially right now, they are working round the clock. Live streams all the time, podcasts, videos, all that great stuff. That's Connor Ryan. I'm Evan Marinowski. Connor, what's up, >> Evan? I'm doing well. How you doing? >> Doing great. Doing great. It's a Wednesday morning and Bruins have won three in a row. Bruins are on a little run here. Tied for first in the Atlantic. Kind of starting to separate themselves a little a wee bit. Wee bit. Red Wings are right behind them. Then it's like a three-point drop off, I think, between Detroit and Montreal. So, top of the Atlantic kind of taking shape right now. Playoffs started today. They'd have the Red Wings in the first round. At least last I checked the standings last night. I can't imagine it's changed at all since 11:30 p.m. Um, but Bruins got a big win on Tuesday night. They beat St. Louis twice in a week. Thank you, Jim Montgomery. Bruins sleeper agent potentially. Uh, did you see the blues tried to chirp Morgan Geeky on Twitter and Geeky just kind of, you know, >> people got to stop doing that? I mean, you see the what happens here when people start chirping Morgan Geeky, right? Like the the one guy called him out last year in December and then he's what had I think I did the numbers. It was like he's 55 goals since then. So you have that you have you have him uh clapping back against uh Kevin over at 985 the sports hub and then you got uh you know the St. Louis Blues which like guys look at your own record by the way roasting a dude wearing a nice puffer jacket and it's like we're not here to call out whatever someone's wearing before a game like yeah you know 47 degrees puffer jacket but like I'm not calling out you know how Morgan Geeky handles the cold weather. Guy's from Manitoba. He's from the middle of like middle of nowhere. So >> the farms. The farms. >> Yes. Exactly. He's got Yeah. So I'm not going to be calling him out. So if you're the Blues, you want to chirp him for that. Of course, he kept the receipts. And you always got to watch out for these guys that, you know, uh strike when you don't expect him to on social media. They just keep receipts. They don't like follow a lot of people. They don't like tweeting every day, but they keeping an eye out. They see they see what's out there. So yeah, Blues Chirp him afterwards calling out that he wore a puffer jacket in 47 degree weather. Geeky right after the game tweets back at them this 47 with a photo of Mark Castelik uh number 47 scoring two goals. Got the stat line for another Bruins win. So yeah, just I think we have to learn just stop shirping Mongiki online. It's not going to work out for you. >> It's not Morgan Geeki on Twitter is kind of like a serial killer. Like you know how serial killers like they kill one person all oh my god there's a ton of attention about it and then you know they wait a little while they wait then they pop up over here and it's like oh and it's like hard to tell where they're going to pop up next >> like a black mamba dude you got to watch out. >> Yeah if you chirp the Bruins or Morgan Geeky on Twitter like you do he's like the grim reaper you kind of got to like watch your back a little bit cuz he just he's going to pop up. He clearly reads a ton of Twitter so it's like if you if you poke the bear he could be lurking. He could. >> You always You always gota be careful like one of these days like we say something wrong, you know, we say something inflammatory on this podcast, one of these days we're gonna get a tweet back at us or the CNS account being like, >> "You read that you read that ad read wrong, Connor." Like, "Ah [laughter] he's listening." So >> he is he's like he's like the the the ghost in the basement. Like when is he gonna when's he going to pop up? You never know where he's going to be. So, and you know what? He has every right to. Dude's one of the top goal scorers in the NHL. You got a million stories written on him of uh should he be on team Canada? He he can talk that. He can talk that. He can walk it. So um yeah, Morgan Tiki dunks on the Blues. I will say 47 degrees I would kill for that right now. I would do anything for 47. >> It is freaking hot outside right now. Sucks. >> I want to say in defense of Morgan Geeki, you know, he's packed from Boston. He's used to the freezing cold weather. He's not packing shorts to go to St. Louis. like >> he's getting ready to go to he's he's getting ready to go to Manitoba and Minnesota after this like and also like I understand that like St. Louis, you don't imagine it being cold, you know, cold weather. The Midwest is a different kind of cold. Like everyone talks about like, you know, when the Patriots were in the playoffs in January, like, yeah, Gillette would get chilly. Where's it the worst? It's always like middle of middle middle of the country, Green Bay, obviously, but remember like two years ago where KC had the AFC Championship game and like people would take beers out of like the freezer and they' immediately turned to ice blocks. When the when the Patriots beat them in 19 in the championship game, Brady had like a scuba suit on. >> Yeah. It's a different level of cold out there. So, I'm not going to bismerch anyone for layering it up. >> No, I'm not either. I'm not either. It's It's I I don't >> Don't Don't yell at us, Morgan Geeky. >> Yeah. No, we're defending you. We're defending you on this. Please don't. Please don't. Please don't tweet at us. Um Marco Sterm though shuffled up the lines quite a bit. Connor, credit to you. You called it, David. >> I kind of didn't though. I kind of didn't though. I I did that, but then I think someone immediately tweeted me like, "Lol, Connor on the Bruins beat was like quote like, "Well, they're not going to put on the third line." They sure did, [laughter] Evan. >> HF boards strikes again. HF boards got me >> has the scoop over us. No question. Uh Steve Lindholm and Geeky stayed together on line one. Middlestad Zaka Arvidson stayed together on line two. Houston, Dino, Mitten, and David Posterno were your third line, although David Pastnok was fifth in minutes for forwards last on Tuesday night. And then the fourth line of Jano Cari, and Castellik. The irony is those two lines that were changed had all the goals with a goalie in the net. Obviously, Zach had the empty neter, but like those bottom bottom two lines kicked ass on Tuesday. and like not really goals off the rush. Those were gritty, grinder, cycling the puck type goals. And David Pos might be the best third liner in the history of the NHL. People are saying >> folks are saying, "No, I agree." >> Incredible. >> Yeah. I mean, you look at just uh listen, it was a great problem for Marco Sturm to have as to go be like, "Where the hell do I put David Postnik back in this lineup?" And there's a lot of different spots you could have slotted him in there where um there's the clear pro of having a 60 goal scorer back. But yeah, you're disrupting lines that are kind of cooking right now. Like did it make sense to have put him back with Geeki on the top line? Yeah. But then you've got Alex Steves who had what five goals in his last six games. And credit to Morgan Geeki. He's kind of showing that he's producing and driving a line by himself. He had five goals and four assists in the five games where Protock was out. I don't want to touch that line. And then you look at that second line with Zaka, Ividson, and Middlestat. They've outscored opponents 11 to six going into that game. Uh when they're out there together, if I'm Mark, I don't want to touch that line. So yeah, it's almost like the third line is where you fall into that spot. But that's not to say that they've also just been the easy kind of uh grouping you look at like, all right, we can mess this line up. Like it's, you know, no big deal. The guys are all doing a pretty solid job. Like the the Jano Minton Castic line has more or less been Sturm shutdown line this year. Like they've been on the ice for over 160 minutes and they've been they've given up two goals against and I think they've outscored opponent 6 to2. Like it has been a identity kind of physical grind out line that he's really utilized quite a bit. So he was going to there was going to be give and take wherever Posanak was going to go. But yeah to to Sturm's credit you you put past in that spot. you put Huseninov further up the lineup um and they've used that kind of trio before in the past Minton Husenov and Posick before and you saw just how effective they were. I think anytime you put David Pos on the line with anyone guys are going to produce so if that means that you're unlocking more offense out of a guy like Fraser Mittton and his confidence continues to grow. Not that he was lacking it, but starts seeing some more pucks go into the net as he did on Tuesday. Husenino like gets kind of engaged as more of a skill guy, not just a fourthline checking role. And then yeah, like you put Jano and Cass like down at the fourth line. I don't think there's any question like would they fit down there? But they were they were a wagon, right? Like I mean they were the the third and fourth lines, the Minton Corali lines were on the ice for 20 minutes of five on five ice time. The Bruins outscored St. Louis four to one. had a 13-4 edge in high danger chances. And I think to your point, um, this wasn't like it was just, you know, uh, landing a few punches on oddman rushes or anything like that. The Bruins had a 19-9 edge in high dangerous chances. And that's even with them looking pretty flat in the first 20 minutes of that game. So, the Bruins were operating all around grade A ice. They were winning pucks back. They were aggressive on the floor check. And I think you saw you saw like when those lines first got tweeted out right before puck drop. You're like this is kind of weird. Let's see how this works out. And what you got was probably the most balanced performance uh especially up front I would say probably from the Bruins. I mean Sean Carelli was the Bruins top forward in terms of ice time was 16 minutes but it was like 16 minutes and then I think it was Zaka was 1555. S was 1551. I think Arvidson was the was in last and he had like 13 minutes and 14 seconds. Like it was a pretty balanced grouping and um you know give credit to Marco Storm for you know he said after the game that he just you know had a gut feeling that this line those lines were going to work. Sure did. Maybe they got to just play the Blues more often because Jesus that team is wretched. >> Well that team is wretched and they're like you know we crap on Jim Montgomery but like that roster also like on D they are old. There are so many big contracts. Tory Crew, by the way, is still under contract by them. Love Tory Krug, but like he's still under contract with that. Like they that's an older team. Bennington in that I know what he wasn't in last night, but like he's been shaky of late. Like that team is um even like Zaka Arvinson and Middlestat last night. Like the Bruins were pretty shaky in that first period defensively. There were a lot of miscues and they looked like a team that, you know, just was rusty. And that line actually got them a lot of chances. That line kind of swayed momentum uh in the Bruins favor throughout that first period. They don't get rewarded for it, but it sets the stage for that second and third when those, you know, the the the bottom six kicked ass the way that it did. And I I also think like this is sort of the the benefit of having, you know, Jano, Castellic, Cari, you've got Acimon on the bench, you've got V on the bench. Like you have multiple guys who can play that fourthline role. And those three did it phenomenally last night. And I think those are your three that you want. Um and I think they bring that identity and they and and you as you said like they that's the piss and vinegar. Like that's a hard that's a hard trio to play against. And then Mitten could have had a hat-tick on Tuesday night. Like he heer got it with his um the edge of his stick that that one almost went in like that you know the the one time >> like 20 pucks that went off the post. >> Yes. >> In that game he had one off the post. The Blues hit the post a couple of times, too. Um, and obviously Swayman tries to go for the empty night there at the end, which almost backfired. Like, he's one of these one of these days the dam is going to break. I feel like every time he tries for a goal or anytime he tries to go for a fight, it's like he just like it doesn't happen like this, you know? >> He's gonna fire one off. It's going to ricochet and it's going to like he's going to fall ass backwards into a goalie goal. >> Yeah. Like something's, you know, I don't know if this would be good or bad. Like what if his goalie goal is like a team scores on themsself like during a delay a delayed penalty and he's like the last person to touch it and they're like that's your goal. He'd be he'd be pissed, right? Like >> he'd be livid. Yeah. >> Beside himself. So um but anyway, those lines um they worked. They worked. And even Steve's like that that Steve's Lindol and geeky line like Geeky hits the post, they were still pretty impactful. Like >> Steve's had seven hits. >> Yeah. like and he works anywhere. It's like they don't have a right now they don't have a defined first line. Like last night I would not say they had a defined first line. They're just deep. And yeah, they lack like true high-end talent on paper. Like if you play as them in NHL 26 outside of like Posternok and Makavoy and maybe Geeky, you don't have a ton of high overalls unlike Swayman obviously, but like they get the job done and that's been their thing. like they're just they're consistently putting forth A+ efforts and some nights you lose by a goal, but recently it just feels like you're on the on the good side of it. >> Yeah. And I I think when we look Evan at this team and how they've been playing above expectations, how they've been punching above their weight, and if we get to the end of the year and this team is in the playoffs and we do a long look back at how they got there, obviously there's a lot of different factors at play. But I think when you're a team that is starting to, you know, uh, make some strides or is, you know, finding, uh, some cohesion out there, I I think what can't be said enough is how important is just to have an identity and buying into it. And I think that is something that's so key for a team that, as you said, they don't have maybe the high-end skill like, you know, even like what you said, like they've got depth. They do, right? when you look at the numbers, but you look at this group. If we said this team was going to be deep before the year, it' be like the hell out of here. No, you're not saying that. But when you've got, I think, a head coach and Marco Sturm who's been pretty clear since the summertime as to how this team needs to play. They need to move their feet. They need to be aggressive. They need to be physical, relentless on pucks, force turnovers, and the players buy into that. That's kind of like the the thing that keeps you even keel over the span of a season. Like again, this team's not going to be perfect. They don't have the skill all the time to to outscore their mistakes. There's going to be games where guys don't have their legs. Guys are going to have to be playing the B and C games just to stay afloat out there. But one thing that can help you out during that stretch is when you just have that identity that you can stick to. You know, the this the the simple principles of this is what we got to do to have success. And I think you see it, you've seen it all year, but you see just as a microcosm of this game, right? like Alex Steves and that line maybe doesn't cash in. He's got seven hits. Geeki has a uh a puck going off the post. Like they did their part. They had their chances. Um I think you look at you know Zaka Arbitson and uh and Middlestad, right? Like yeah it's done. >> But like that's a group right that they've been productive and they've been moving their feet. They've been you know uh generating a lot of chances. they've bought into that system even for guys that you wouldn't necessarily say are physical for checkers, right? And then yeah, you've got David Posternok, but like you look at that third line, Mittton obviously is a poised young player and then Postnak after the game yesterday was like yeah, like Kusenino for his size is relentless on pucks. Even look at like the last goal, the empty net where Pastnik has that chance. Puck like just bounces off the post. What does he do? Does he go like ah No, he like he works his ass off, gets the puck back from whatever that blue skater was. Two seconds later, the puck's in the net from Zaka that time around. And then we don't have to say about what the fourth line, those guys do as well. Like Castle and those players are fully bought into that system. So, when you have four lines and you got a whole room that knows it's how you have to play, even when you know you're fighting the puck or things aren't going your way in that one game, if you have everyone listening in to how they need to play and what they need to operate, then you're going to have success more nights uh than not, you're at the very least going to be competitive. You're not going to let games get away from you. And that's kind of what you've seen. So, and I contrast that almost with what the Bruins were last year where like what was that team's identity? you did you go through anything? Yeah. Like they didn't have like a thing of like, you know, >> uh, regardless of who was going to step up that night, like what were you expecting from that team? What do they need to do to be successful? And I think even look at like the Blues this year, like what is their identity? When you're like this rudderless team that has some skilled players, some guys that should be punching above their weight and they don't. Well, you can't rely on that unifying kind of identity or those principles that you can just stick to when the game's not going your way. I think that goes a long way for any team that is really successful is um you know having a clear-cut identity, having a clear-cut message as to what this team needs to do and I think you've seen it so far and I think that has gone a really long way as to why this team has been exceeding expectations. Well, it kind of goes back to I feel like Sweeney and this front office have figured out from, you know, 20 uh from 23 24 and sort of the success of that year when they weren't supposed to have a lot of success that year post Berseron and Crerache and the terribleness of 2425 and sort of what they figured out this year is if you're sort of in that bridge, if you're sort of between good teams and good young cores, you kind of want to go for culture guys, you want to go for signings or or or trades that you bring in some uh some vets, guys who know what it's like to win, who bring who, as they say, drag you into the fight. And that's what a lot of this team does. You know, they got Castellic last year, Jano this year, ACmont, um you know, Arvdson, they go out and get Zador off has turned into that guy, you know, a year after signing. So, it's like they have this identity. You're right. Like and and look, they're not flashy signings. That's the thing, right? Like these are not signings that like your average fan who doesn't pay that much attention is like, "Oh, they got they got Tanner Jano." Like, "Oh my god." Um, and I still think that, you know, their cap situation is is certainly interesting with how much they're spending on different areas, but it's paying off right now. It's paying off. And, you know, again, like they're in the mix for two first round picks this coming year. Like, things are good. things are good and the identity is there. And by the way, the identity shouldn't be gone next season. Like when James Hagens comes in, uh Will Zeers's down the road, Will Moore, Laterno, like all these guys, they're building this culture. They're building back the identity that, you know, that they had for all those years and they're improving on it for this. And we're seeing it. You're seeing it in a game like last night where, by the way, they went down kind of early, one- nothing. Like they could have rolled over. It's the first of a threeame series, a three-game road trip. you know, you've been winning quite a bit lately. It's not our night. Tuesday in December in St. Louis against the crappy blues. But no, they fight back, so I give him a lot of credit for that. I want to get into whether or not these lines are sustainable. Is David Poshnock always going to be a third liner? But first, our friends over at Prize Fix episodes brought to you by Prize Pix. You and I make decisions every day, but on Prize Fix, being right can get you paid. Don't miss any of the excitement this season on Prize Pix where it's good to be right. Morgan Geeky, I can't say it enough, continues to score more than.5 goals in a game. And now Posterno's back and even in his first game back, two assists. I like him for more than.5 or 1.5 points, especially coming up here in Winnipeg. Prize picks, simple to play. Just pick more or less on two to six player stat projections. And if you get your picks right, you cash in. Prize picks, smart people over there, invented the flex play, which means you can still cash out if your lineup isn't perfect. You can double your money even if one of your picks does not hit. Download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup prize picks. It's good to be right. Good to be right over at prize pick. So Connor, the lines are what they are. I can't imagine they change and we're doing this before they skate on Wednesday, so we don't know exactly uh what they're, you know, what they're going to look like in practice, but u I can't imagine they change because they worked so well against St. Louis. I can't imagine they change going into Winnipeg. Is this sustainable? Are there changes you would make? I think there's one obvious one, but maybe not. I was thinking about this this morning. I was like, maybe you'd move this person up, but like do you want to touch that giggy line? I don't know. What do you think? >> I mean, I think if it's if it ain't broke, don't fix it right now, especially up front. And if guys are feeling good about their games and listen, I think Pos's gonna get I I think what the big game changer has been is that Giki's driving play in producing without David Posterno and that opens up so many doors. So listen, when the team is going to be chasing a goal, I think David Pausnik is going to be with Morgan Geeki. I think that makes a lot of sense. But >> sorry, David Pos, we have Morgan Geeki. >> Yes. >> Exactly. So, uh, the fact that you're getting that production like consistently now without those two paired together, I think has been huge for this group. So, not to say that I think David Posnog is now permanently going to be a third line player. Uh, but in the time being, if you're able to still get this production and it means that you're elevating guys like Husenino and Minton and all a sudden they're playing at a higher pace. Not to say that I think if we looked at the end of the season uh and Fraser Minton had 40 points as opposed to like 28, right? Like yeah, you'll clearly take the the more points, but like I think you'd see just the way he's been playing and you you see a young player that is the Bruins like third line center of the future. He's been great regardless, but how much of an extra boost would it be both for Minton and for your overall depth if you have Posanok just turning offense on a third line with some younger players? If it unlocks more production on Husadino as well, you'll take that. So, um I wouldn't be surprised if they keep it together for one more game. You got Winnipeg, a team that has been reeling now that Hellbuck hasn't been out there. I know he's starting to skate, so I'm not sure if he's going to be available on Thursday. Be ideal for the Bruins if he wasn't. um you take advantage of that. But uh I I think for right now you keep that group together. And I think if you're Marco Sturm, you hope that you have another tough problem on your hands as far as well maybe it's not as tough as far as putting Charlie Makavoy back in the lineup because I think that's definitely an area where you desperately miss him as opposed to what seems like an abundance of riches up front for the Bruins right now. >> Yeah, you don't miss Poshock at all. trade him. But, you know, putting him on the third line, that might hurt his trade value. Like, it's a third line or >> doesn't seem like a captain doesn't seem like captain material. People are saying online, >> Dustin Brown on the third line, fourth line still being in the catch. I don't know if I can I don't know if Bruins can do it. >> Definitely not captain material for like your your franchise player to go on the third line and have he had he actually had three assists. They gave him another assist off that Minton goal. So, he had three assists in his first game back. So, >> pretty uh pretty casual. >> Well, so this is the thing, right? is like if you're going to put like obviously the the obvious move is putting Postnog back with Kiki and Lindol and Steve's on the third line like that is that can work right like that's the logic the obvious fix but there's also the case of like what if they spread the wealth a little bit you said it like Mitten and Husina are young guys they're offensive guys post with them see what happens like let Morgan Geeky cook for a little bit without Post as he has been for the last week and a see how that goes. Alex Steves, keep giving him runway with high-end offensive guys like Morgan Deei and Elias Lindholm down the middle as well. So, it's like you're spreading the wealth a little bit. Your second line of Zaka Arbertson and Middlestats working. Your fourth line certainly has their identity that's different from your top three lines. That's for damn sure. So, it's like why not give this a little bit of time, you know? And the other thing is you can't if poss and you have Zaka Arbitson and Middlestat and you have you know Geeky Lindholm and Steves. There's not really one line you can shut down. You can't. And it's the regular season. There's a little bit less of that. But still, and I I don't expect that to go forever. I expect Posh to be back up playing a ton of minutes. I'd also say Poshmark's coming off injury. Like I don't you don't want him to be thrust into Oh, 20 20 minutes. 20. Oh, double shifting on the power play. Like this is a good time to where to cut your minutes a little bit. What do you play? 15 something minutes last night. I think it was like right around there. Fifth most forwards on the team. >> That's not the worst thing if you're still winning. And he's still producing. He's still producing. So, I'm okay with them testing this for a little bit here. You know that Lindomegei and Post works. That's not an issue. They have a They've had a ton of time together. see what we can do with Fraser Mitten. And by the way, maybe Mitten and Posternok are a fantastic duo. And it's like, okay, now we got something because we talk a lot about like what is Mitten? And I think the the OB, you know, right now it's he's a good he's a really good third line center. He can he could be a second line center in a pinch, but he had he has, you know, second line center potential. What if he ends up working with Pastrad? And that's a crazy good connection. it already was on on um on Tuesday night. What if that continues? And it's like, oh, oh boy, now he's a potential top six guy down the road. So, it's like you're you're testing things out. You're opening up options and you're still winning. So, I don't to me like I keep this grouping for the time being until it until it sort of fizzles out. Maybe I'm crazy >> or no, I don't think so. And again, maybe it doesn't fizzle out, right? And that's like the best case scenario for the Bruins where all of a sudden, as you said, you looked at this roster before the side. You're like, where's the offense going to come from? And now, let's just look ahead, right? This is probably dramatic, but let's say this team is in the playoffs and your team game planning for them. And you're like, you're looking at the stat line like, how the did Alex Steves get like 16 goals? Like Geeki's got 40ome and like Posog's on the third line with these guys. We have to we have to game plan for him there. And then like you know Zaka and Middlesat and these guys like it makes it that much tougher to account for the Bruins if you look at and it's important I think when you just look at guys you know what their projections were before the year started what they were labeled as right like Steve's an AHL guy. Geeky was a guy that you know had 30 goals but was that going to be sustainable? Craig Button hates Casey Middle staff for some reason. you have all these guys, but I think it's important just to look at what they're doing right now um and what they've done so far this year. And yeah, if you're able to balance out your lines and just the way that these guys work and it means that Ponok and Minton have something there, yeah, you keep them together. If it means Alex Steves is confident in finding his game in a a role with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geeky, yeah, keep them together. Like, why mess with something that seems like it's working right now? Again, I agree there's no guarantee that it's going to work long term, but what a tremendous pain in the ass it would be for any other team going up against the Bruins. If that is the case, and all of a sudden you've got four lines that you have to game plan around, not even counting like if you're Detroit and you're playing the Bruins in the first round, you're like, "All right, we got these three lines that like, all right, we got to account for this guy, this guy, this guy. Oh we also have the fourth line. We can't have Cider out there because Mark Castle is going to punch him into the into the the shadow realm. Like, what what are we doing here?" So, uh, yeah, we'll see how it plays out, but it would be a huge plus for the Bruins if a team that we thought was going to win a lot of two-1 games this year all of a sudden has a hodge podge kind of group that all seems to be clicking and all it makes for a pretty deep lineup that we'll see. I like the idea that Todd Mlelen is like >> at night just like laying there like what do I do about Mitten and Houston Dino and Alex Steves and oh my god what and Mark Castelic and Tanner Jano and it's just like spiraling. Um I want to get into head coaching actually we'll talk about head coaching in a second but first friendly reminder make sure to subscribe to Burns Ringside on YouTube. We hit 10K about like two months ago. We're rising fast and podcasts all the time. Poke the bear, pucks with hags, brewins beat. [snorts] Uh, make sure to subscribe to that and then obviously wherever you get your podcast from, Spotify, Apple, Podbean, wherever. Amazon I think has some. There's a ton. There's so many. You can subscribe wherever you get them. So delivered straight to your inbox. Uh, and then of course Patriots Press Fast Celtics all access. They are buzzing as always. So make sure to go uh subscribe to them. Um Marco Marco Sturm Jack Adams. It's funny I was looking at the odds uh Wednesday morning and he is deep in there. He is not near the top. And it hits this Connor is like I was reading in the athletic like they were breaking down like some of the top breakout teams in the NHL and their playoff chances and hopefuls. Bruins were not in that story. And I was maybe >> maybe I didn't like read something like sometimes I can skim or miss important detail but like the Bruins weren't in it. And to me the Bruins are the breakout of all breakouts. They were projected with models in the bottom five and they're tied for the top seed in the Atlantic. Like I don't understand. I don't get why there's not more attention around Marco Sturm as a potential Jack Adams candidate. >> Yeah, I find it very very confusing. And it's not to say there haven't been a lot of other teams with new coaches um >> yes >> who have exceeded expectations right like I think you look at Pittsburgh makes a lot of sense right because as a team people thought was going to be fried dead and buried uh obviously I think Quenville what he's done in Anaheim is impressive but it's almost >> I don't know maybe I'm like move yeah talk it like but maybe I'm also moving the goalpost a little bit but I look at a team like Anaheim that like showed a little bit of promise last year and you see how much skill they have you're like yeah They were going to take a step forward, right? It's almost kind of like how Utah was last year. You got you got all these guys. It was inevable inevitable for them to take a step forward. Maybe you needed the coach to kind of put it all together, but you look at what the projections were for the Bruins going into the year of all the models had them getting a top five pick. You're like, "This team is cashed out. This team is ass." And you look at the way they're playing now. >> [snorts] >> like I don't know how they're not getting enough um you know talk of just what they've done so far this year and maybe it's just it feels like the new thing is that uh people point to their like expected goals you know peak under the hood and maybe people think that they're going to collapse at some point or they're just kept afloat because of special teams and the goalending but they're stacking wins and I think to to what we said earlier about like how uh Marco Sturm has kind of uh pushed all the right buttons and has done a good job of broadcasting his message of what this team's identity needs to be. I think you've seen that buy in. I think you've seen a team that has kind of carried momentum as the year's gone along that um if they can solve those issues with, you know, some defensive lapses, which I think will help when you got Charlie Makavoy back out there, you see like what the Bruins have had to deal with as far as injuries out of the gate. I know a lot of teams have had that, but injuries combined with a really tough schedule combined with like the the initial hurdle of that sevename losing streak or you things could have gone off the rails in a hurry to where they are now. Um I think yeah, Sturm deserves a lot more credit. like it it's it's one thing just to you know bring new vibes to a building to a to a room um change a few things up but for him to kind of overhaul the systems to be I think pretty candid and upfront with what this team needs to do um get the guys to buy in after a year that you know a year from hell last season and also I think just push all the right buttons you saw Tuesday with the lineup changes how that worked out you see how he's handled taking guys out of the lineup and rewarding them and you've seen guys like Alex Steves and Moratino and all these players rise to the occasion and buy in and they become not just a guy who gives you a lift for two games then kind of peters out again. Guys that are in the lineup night in and night out. Um so yeah, like there's a lot of good candidates, but um I think Sturm deserves a lot of credit and I feel like the Bruins should start getting some more credit of like not saying this team's a contender or anything yet, but I think they deserve a lot of respect of like if they're playing like this, they're a pain in the ass and they're a tough out night in and night out. And I think you're seeing them to what you said at the start of the podcast, Evan, they're starting to settle into a groove here while some teams start to stall out a little bit. You're seeing some of that separation. And I think you're seeing a Bruins team that uh we even noted it on Bruins beat where they're playing. Some teams that are banged up as they're getting healthy, some easier matchups, they have to take advantage of it. And so far they have a little bit of a runway here to do that. I think when you look at, and I'm not discrediting what Quenville has done in Anaheim or what coach has done elsewhere, but like I'll use Anaheim as an example. Like when you looked at the Anaheim roster, if you were an NA a prospective NHL head coach, be like, I want to coach that team. Like that Anaheim team, there's a lot of talent there that, you know, they were playing pretty conservative under Cronin and now it's like they're unleashed. And like I think any coach who looks at that would be like I want to just play run and gun exciting hockey with Goautier and Carlson and Terry and all of them. You look at the Bruins that was a job that it was like do you really want that? Like like do you really want to step into that? Like just traded >> a franchise icon and Brad Marshian just traded most of the of the core. >> Basically admitted that your dressing room was completely stale. There were problems all throughout the year last year. They were a soap opera in real time and Sturm, >> you're in a crazy market. You're in a crazy market. >> Crazy ass market. Sturm comes in, they they go on a losing streak to start the year. Basically, they start with three straight wins and then lose like what, seven in a row. It >> was awful. >> Then they have that brutal game in Ottawa and it's December 10th and they're sitting tied for first in the Atlantic. Like there's so much to be said there. You said it with the systems. You said it with um instituting a new culture saying this is how I want to play. Also, by the way, playing exactly how this roster should be playing, not high skill, shooting everything. Like, that's what this group of guys should be doing and they're doing it. And so, I think, you know, I'm not saying should he win the Jack Adams. I don't know. I think what Dan Muse has done in Pittsburgh is really freaking good. I think there are a lot of coaches around the league that you could look to. I mean, Tocket in Philadelphia, like that was another team that was projected low. Pittsburgh obviously was projected very low. And we'll see what happens over the next couple months. Same with the Bruins. But like what Sterm has done in Boston, like you should he should not be like 10th or 11th in Jack Adams odds. Like he should be up there with all those other guys. And the Bruins should have attention just like all those other teams are getting because again was not expected with this team looked dead. This roster looked completely dead. And to their credit and to Storm's credit, they're very much alive. >> Yeah. I think just I think just people need to start keeping tabs on a little bit more. Again, not saying all of a sudden get the duck boats ready or this team is a lock for the playoffs, but I feel like the last couple of months, maybe it's just because of that losing streak or just looking at the numbers, everyone's like, "Yeah, okay." Like paper tiger, we'll see when the bottom falls out. I think I was to be like, "Oh they're kind of sticking around, huh? All right, I guess the Bruins are are going to be going to be in the thick of things this year." And I think that's what the next step has to be because that's the way they're playing. And I think a lot of it has to do with the buy in and what they've been doing under Marcus term. So hopefully these this team and especially their coach starts getting a little bit more of a spotlight on them of like what's going on up in Boston. This team was cooked. They look like they're right back in it. It's exactly it. It's exactly it. Connor, what can the people look forward to from you over at the globe andboston.com? >> Yeah, you can read me at the globeandboston.com. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins season. We got features, recaps, columns, breakdowns, analysis, all that good stuff. Uh so you can read my stuff over there in those two sites. And if you want to follow me on Twitter X, whatever you want to call it, you can conorion_93. >> Go do all that. That's Connor Ryan. I'm Evan Marinowski. Poke the bear listeners. Have a great rest of your week.

In this episode of Poke The Bear, Conor and Evan discuss Boston’s win over the Blues, Marco Strum’s new lineup changes, and whether Sturm deserves more credit as a Coach of the Year candidate. 

0:00 – ⏰️EPISODE TIMELINE⏰️
1:55 – Morgan Geekie claps back at St. Louis Blues Chirping him
5:57 – Bruins Make Line adjustments with Pastrnak return
14:15 – Bruins identity this season
19:52 – Prizepicks
20:47 – Do Bruins need to change lines again?
28:58 – Subscribe to the podcast!
29:33 – Should Marco Sturm win Jack Adams Award?
36:45 – Wrapping up

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