Flavin Media

My best stab at Opening Night as things currently stand, and this assumes Jones is healthy. If not, just plug one of the scratches in there. Zadorov looked good with Peeke, I thought, and honestly that mix is so versatile it’ll probably shuffle like six different ways. pic.twitter.com/AEJDPp8n87

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) October 2, 2024

If this is what the Bruins’ lines could possibly look like on opening night, things could actually be promising offensively. We know the defense has only improved since some good things last year. Most notably, though, the forward lines are more well-rounded than some may have thought—but obviously, fate will tell if the top two lines are enough for a full season, let alone the playoffs.

Line 1: With a potential Zacha–Lindholm–Pastrnak line, you reunite Zacha with Pastrnak again, along with the newly reestablished capabilities that a two-way center like Lindholm will provide. Lindholm’s efforts on both sides of the ice could potentially help raise Pastrnak’s production and reinvigorate Zacha’s game.

Line 2: Geekie provided a good fundamental game last year, so you pair that with a finally healthy Marchand and a more fitting second-line center in Coyle. The experience of this line should give you what you’d expect: overall productivity.

Line 3: This is where it gets fun. You put an improved Frederic and a promising Brazeau with the youthful potential of a guy like Poitras. This mix can be the start of a better forechecking mentality overall for the team.

Line 4: Forechecking madness is what this line should hope to be. Two agile grinders like Max Jones and Mark Kastelic should reinforce good habits in another promising player like Johnny Beecher.

If a player goes down, things will definitely need to be addressed. But for now: balanced forward lines to complement the heavy defense.