Bruins turn to prospect Georgii Merkulov for scoring spark

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With the Bruins in need of a spark offensively, they have turned to Georgii Merkulov. The 23-year-old was promoted to the NHL on Friday and rewarded for his stellar season. In 30 games for Providence, he has been a points machine and impressed those within the organization, including Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.

In his third AHL campaign, the 23-year-old has added 14 goals and 16 assists to his resume. As of Thursday night, he was fourth in the AHL scoring. Over the last few weeks, he has taken his game to another level, recording 18 points in his last 12 games.

While his numbers have impressed, what has stood out to Montgomery is Merkulov’s overall game and effort.

“The most promising things we’re hearing is how quickly he’s closing in the D-zone and how his 200-foot game has really upticked,” Montgomery told the media. “And it’s not surprising that you hear about someone’s 200-foot game getting better, and he’s second in the league in scoring. Like, yesterday, we had seven odd-man rushes, and five of them came from good defense. Good defense leads to offense.”

Before the Bruins win over the Sabres on Wednesday, they had been outscored 14-7 in their previous four games. After an impressive start, they have struggled to string wins together. The Bruins hope Merkulov can help change that in his first NHL stint.

With Matt Poitras at the World Junior Championship in Sweden until at least Jan. 3, Merkulov could get a 3-4 game look. If he can continue to do what he has done in Providence, it will be hard for Montgomery to take him out of the lineup.

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