Kalman: With Eriksson Scoring, Bruins Might Not Need Major Overhaul
BOSTON (CBS) - "Of course you're disappointed. You always want to score more and score more goals. But at the same time, right now I don't have to think too much. I'm just going to go out there and play and try to play good. And sooner or later I'm going to get on a roll here and maybe I'm going to score some more goals and produce some more. So we'll see what happens here." -- Bruins forward Loui Eriksson on the morning of Dec. 11
The Bruins were coming off their win at Arizona that concluded their mostly disastrous four-game Western Conference road trip when the conversation that produced the above quote happened between Bruins forward Loui Eriksson and me after a morning skate.
Eriksson scored a goal against the Coyotes, but he had just four goals in the first 28 games of this season. Coming off a 10-goal season in 2013-14, Eriksson was looking like nothing less than one of the all-time acquired busts in recent Bruins history. However, Eriksson was encouraged by some of his play during the Bruins 1-3-0 trip.
Against Chicago the night of our morning-skate chat, he had three shots on net but no points. It looked like Eriksson was reverting back to the role of occasional contributor. As his quote from that morning proved, however, he wasn't discouraged. And just when I thought his happy talk was more a sign of delusion than actual confidence, Eriksson caught fire.
The veteran forward, who will forever be branded as the centerpiece in the package the Bruins got from Dallas for Tyler Seguin, caught fire. With two more goals in the Bruins' 5-3 victory against Nashville on Tuesday at TD Garden, Eriksson has five goals and two assists in seven games since that scoreless game against the Blackhawks. Eriksson's positive vibes have turned into positive results on the ice – including two overtime goals in the past week – and all of a sudden, the Bruins might have an actual scoring forward in their midst.
"Just the puck is coming to me right now," Eriksson said after the Bruins won their second in a row for the first time in more than a month. "I'm finding ways to score goals and it's just a nice feeling when you get there. That's how I was when I played in Dallas you just kept going and the goals were coming. Hopefully I can continue like that. I'm feeling good right now so hopefully it will continue.
Bruins coach Claude Julien has seen a more confidence Eriksson the past few weeks.
"When you're confident, a lot of things come easy to you. When you're not, you're skating out there sometimes you feel like you've got a piano on your back and your sluggish and everything else," Julien said. "But right now I think he's feeling it. Like all players in this league when they get on a roll, they feel good about themselves and I think, to me, he's showing the kind of player we've always thought he was. He's scoring some goals, he's making some plays, he's killing penalties. He's a guy that you can use in all kinds of situations, so right now I think we're seeing some of his best hockey."
Eriksson now has nine goals, one shy of his total for all of last season. His net drive has come alive. His hockey sense is creating chances that start out with takeaways in the defensive and neutral zones. He's still a little shy on the trigger around the net, but more often than not he's at least keeping possession rather than letting the other team take the puck back the other way with speed.
It might be time to warn Seguin: here comes Loui. (Not really, so save your rude comments and emails.)
Eriksson, with 21 points, has four fewer points than Seguin has goals. Seguin has 25 goals as part of his 42 points. Seguin is doubling up Eriksson, but this isn't about a 1-on-1 comparison. Nor does it matter to Eriksson, who's just trying to help get the Bruins out of their doldrums and back into the Eastern Conference's top eight.
"Obviously he's scoring a lot of goals over there, but it's not much I can do about it here," Eriksson said. "I'm just trying to play my game and try to help the team as much as I can here. These past couple games it's been really good so hopefully I'll continue doing that."
Neither the Bruins nor Eriksson ever planned for his first season in Boston to be marred by two concussions. By the playoffs last season, however, he was one of the Bruins' best forwards. There are no excuses for his slow start to this season, except the one where the entire team has been discombobulated by injuries and poor planning by general manager Peter Chiarelli.
Eriksson has finally found a home on a line with center Carl Soderberg and left wing Chris Kelly. That line faces favorable matchups when the Bruins' lineup is healthy, and it's taking advantage of the competition.
No one expects Eriksson to come close to Seguin's offensive totals this year or any year in the future. That first-line right winger is just a black hole right now is ironic, considering where Seguin would've probably fit on the current Bruins.
However, with Eriksson making good on his premonitions of production, and other players (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron) coming around as well, the Bruins at least have the makings of a team that might need to plug just one hole instead of many. They might be able to lower their expectations when searching on the trade market. To succeed down the stretch and in the playoffs, they might be able to just supplement the roster rather execute a complete overhaul.
More important, Eriksson might not be a bust.
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