RALEIGH, N.C. — Marco Sturm had his reasons for separating David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. The Boston Bruins coach wanted to spread out his offense. He liked how Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten gave Pastrnak speed and puck-hunting presence. There were times when Geekie and Pastrnak, with Elias Lindholm in the middle, were pushing for offense so aggressively that they compromised their defensive play.

Sturm, it appears, has no choice but to ride the GLP-1 Line the rest of the way.

Geekie’s 17-game goal-scoring slump is history after his hat trick on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Pastrnak set up two of his linemate’s three goals with his sublime playmaking. Their chemistry is undeniable. In a seven-game series, a known commodity like the Pastrnak-Geekie partnership can heavily influence outcomes.

“He’s a world-class player and makes those plays a lot of the time,” Geekie said of Pastrnak. “We’ve played together enough the last few years that I’ve learned to be where he likes to put the puck.”

Geekie (37 goals) owns a difference-making wrist shot and a ripping one-timer. They are muted weapons when left disengaged. 

On the third line, when he played with Lindholm and a rotation of left wings (Lukas Reichel, Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves), Geekie was not getting his chances. It is neither the fault of Lindholm nor any of the left wings that they do not see the ice as vividly as Pastrnak. Not many players do.

Pastrnak has 420 goals, 12th-most among active finishers. The fact, however, that he has a career-high 70 assists this season (No. 4 in the NHL behind Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon through Tuesday) signals his arrival as a playmaker. Pastrnak’s hockey IQ, creativity and deception have made him one of the game’s most dangerous dual-threat attackers. Defenders, forever intent on negating Pastrnak’s shot, now have to contend with his setup skill.

Youngsters like Khusnutdinov, 23, and Minten, 21, have the potential to grow into goal scorers. But Geekie already is one, an elite version at that. 

This becomes amplified when he rides with Pastrnak.

On-ice repetitions and video study have sharpened Geekie’s GPS to the point where he knows exactly where to go when Pastrnak possesses the puck. These are usually high-danger areas: between the dots, top of the crease, left elbow, far post. This makes Pastrnak happy. Any disher would enjoy a partner who wears out the ice in goal-scoring territory.

“I look for him all the time,” Pastrnak said. “Obviously, it’s not a secret. We have chemistry. We play together well. He reads off me really well. I need him to score goals. He’s an important teammate for me and linemate. We’re good friends. I look for him. Happy he’s on board.”

It wasn’t helping matters that the cohort of third-line left wings was doing little to earn permanent playing time with Lindholm and Geekie. Reichel, on occasion, showed the most speed and skill of the candidates during his first eight games. The ex-Vancouver Canuck scored a goal and an assist in his Bruins debut: a 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 19.

But Sturm sat Reichel against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 4 for his first time as a Bruin. Reichel is a light player at times. Sturm wants him to be harder on pucks. 

Reichel was back in a game later against the Philadelphia Flyers. Following a zero-point game in Philadelphia, Reichel returned to street clothes against Carolina. Steeves, a healthy scratch for the previous 11 games, was back in. He had one shot and three hits in 10:13 of play.

After signing his NHL entry-level contract on Wednesday, it could be that James Hagens will get his third-line opportunity as soon as Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 19-year-old had six games of AHL throat-clearing, scoring one goal and four points for Providence.

Hagens’ game centers on speed, acceleration and puck transportation. If Hagens debuts on the No. 3 line, the Bruins will have hair-blowing speed on the wings with Khusnutdinov on the right side. 

But it is unrealistic to expect the teenager to make an immediate offensive impact. That will have to come from Geekie and Pastrnak. They are too good together to keep apart. The Bruins need Geekie to score. Having Pastrnak as his running mate optimizes Geekie to do what he does best.

“He had to be there at the right spot too,” Sturm said of Geekie’s positioning on his first two goals Tuesday. “That’s something we told him to do, not just play on the outside. Play on the inside. He did a good job.”