Could a Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak reunion go better for Bruins next season?

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PITTSBURGH — Elias Lindholm has the profile of a No. 3 center. He is good defensively. He has won 55.3 percent of his faceoffs. After a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, he has 46 points, his lowest sum for a single team since scoring 44 points for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017-18.

But the best spot Lindholm could play for the Boston Bruins in 2025-26 could be the No. 1 line.

If you think that is a contradiction, consider that Lindholm has three goals and four assists in the last five games while centering Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak. Some of it is catching the drift Geekie and Pastrnak have created. But Lindholm has done his own heavy lifting on the first line, primarily by going to the net like he did in the first period to score his 17th goal.

“He understands what he needs to do to be effective on that line,” interim coach Joe Sacco said. “Not only defensively, but offensively. He’s been doing that lately, right? He’s getting that net front, the blue paint, the top of the blue-paint area. It’s critical, especially with David and Geeks. Right now, obviously they move the puck well around the outside. But if you don’t have someone inside driving the net, it becomes less effective.”

The Bruins have always known what Pastrnak can do with and without the puck. His touch as a finisher is unquestionable. It is not easy to score 40-plus goals in four straight seasons. 

But Pastrnak is expressing his playmaking side once more. He set up Lindholm in the first period. His slot-line pass in the second let Geekie rocket a one-timer past Tristan Jarry for his 32nd goal. Pastrnak is up to 62 assists, one off his career pace from last year.

In 2022-23, Pastrnak enjoyed playing with David Krejci, a pure playmaker. Before that, he benefited from riding with Patrice Bergeron, who excelled at winning pucks for Pastrnak, not necessarily threading him Krejci-like feeds.

But Pastrnak is proving he does not require a pass-first pivot.

“Yes, because he’d probably score even more,” Sacco said of pairing Pastrnak with a disher. “But the way he’s playing the game, he’s doing both. He’s scoring and he’s playmaking. I guess that’s a good thing to have.”

David Pastrnak and Sidney Crosby chat during a faceoff. (Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)

The Bruins signed Lindholm to a seven-year, $54.25 million contract to be their No. 1 center this season. The plan went sideways on the first day of training camp when Lindholm suffered an undisclosed injury. The first-year Bruin missed more than a week.

He was not right when he returned. Lindholm had trouble adjusting to everything about Boston. At the same time, Pastrnak was trying to turn the corner after missing critical offseason training because of an unknown injury suffered during the World Championships. The two misfiring forwards, with Pavel Zacha on their left flank, never found their traction. Ex-coach Jim Montgomery had no choice but to drop Lindholm off the No. 1 line.

Things have changed. A five-game sample has given the Bruins hope that a Geekie-Lindholm-Pastrnak partnership could be a go-to trio next year. 

“It was a tough start. Kind of missed the whole training camp there,” Lindholm said. “Obviously we weren’t playing any good hockey at that time. Obviously Dave throughout the season has gotten better and better. Watching him now for almost a full season, you know what he likes to do out there.”

Pastrnak and Geekie do not need Lindholm to handle the puck and make plays. They do that well enough themselves.

In particular, they have developed a knack for making east-west connections. A go-to sequence: Pastrnak controls the puck on the right side, sells a shot to bait the goalie, completes a slot-line pass for Geekie to one-time into an empty net.

If Lindholm wins faceoffs, goes to the net and stays home defensively, Pastrnak and Geekie can take care of the rest.

“Offensively, yeah, no question. Defensively, probably not,” Sacco said with a smile when asked if Pastrnak can play the part of center and right wing. “The way he’s seeing the game right now offensively, like he typically does, the ability to finish off goals and set up goals is almost acting as another centerman right now on the ice.”

This would allow Zacha to be the No. 2 center and Casey Mittelstadt to be on the third line. Zacha set up Fabian Lysell in the second period with an inside-out pass. The right wing finished it off for his first career goal.

“It felt awesome,” said Lysell, who appeared in his 11th game. “But when you’re in it, you’re in the game. You just try to refocus and focus on the next shift. But it felt amazing.”

At this point, losses would improve the Bruins’ chances of drafting an impact player in June. But getting more information on Lindholm and seeing Lysell smile after his first goal were helpful benefits of two unnecessary points.

“It’s always nice to see someone score,” said Lindholm. “I remember. It’s been a long time for me. But every time you see someone score a first goal in the NHL, it’s always nice to see. It’s a good feeling for sure.”

(Top photo of Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie: (Justin Berl / Getty Images)

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