Scoring influx: a sign of things to come, or too good to be true?

After quite a dry spell, the Bruins’ secondary scorers had themselves night on Tuesday.

Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen’s goals were the products of a solid performance overall from their line, with their sold efforts coming to fruition at valuable times.

It’s sounds like a broken record, but it’s true: throughout the season, the team has struggled to get scoring from players other than Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. That’s been especially true since the win over the Capitals before Christmas break.

Goals have almost exclusively come from the first line, with the occasional tally from the the rest of the forwards or someone on the blueline.

On average, the bottom half of the forward group is getting anywhere from 0-2 shots per game, a trend that continued even in last night’s win (aside from Heinen, who had 4). It’s obvious, but goals aren’t going to be scored if pucks aren’t getting to the net.

However, there’s some puck luck involved: if those forwards continue to throw pucks on net, even at a lower rate, a few are bound to go in eventually.

In a way, Tuesday’s win was a little frustrating, as it showed what the Bruins are capable of being if they got offensive contributions from the Coyles, Heinens, and Bjorks of the lineup, not to mention the fourth line. Why aren’t they getting it consistently?

Still, it’s worth wondering: Are these the twelve forwards that will keep the team on the top of the standings for the foreseeable future, or would a trade shake things up and add depth so Pastrnak doesn’t have to do all the scoring himself?

It’s hard to tell if Tuesday’s win was one game and was an anomaly against a bottom Western Conference team, or if it’s the start of a positive trend.

Regardless, Tuesday’s showing from “the other guys” was a good start, and there’s no use complaining about a win. Still, it remains concerning how the team is so reliant on a small number of guys scoring, a flaw that could prove fatal when spring rolls around.

What do you think?

With the trade deadline several weeks away, do the Bruins give their depth guys a little more leash to see if they can get rolling, or does an upgrade need to be made sooner rather than later?

Basically, would you be comfortable with this forward group heading into the playoffs?