Balancing the Lineup: Should the B’s break up the first line?

Over the last two seasons, the Bruins first line of Marchand, Bergeron, and Pastrnak has been a staple. They have been arguably the best line in hockey, outshooting and outscoring opponents. So why break them up?

Simple: The Bruins perform a lot worse without that line on the ice.

The trio has recorded over 1,000 5v5 minutes with each other over 117 games the last two seasons. When they are on the ice, the Bruins CF% sits just north of 60%. Their GF% is about the same at 59%. In other words, the Bruins score three goals to their opponent’s two when the trio is on the ice.

Those metrics drop substantially when they are off the ice. The Bruins’ CF% drops to about 53%, while their GF% drops to…