Newfound chemistry has made Bruins duo one of NHL’s hottest tandems

BOSTON — Morgan Geekie said he left superstition behind when he stopped playing baseball.

The one-time promising second baseman prospect from Manitoba, said he’s avoided overthinking or overemphasizing the trivial as a hockey player even during his current torrid stretch. Geekie’s two third-period goals on Saturday not only lifted the Bruins to a 3-1 win over Colorado, but they gave him 13 goals and seven assists in the last 24 games. He had just two goals all season before that.

“I was a baseball player for a long time. I tried to get away from that as much as I could. There’s obviously a little routine on gameday, but I try not to put too much emphasis on that,” Geekie said. “The less you can think about on the ice is more important than what I did at 11 in the morning.”

So no weird rituals or other mumbo-jumbo is fueling that success, just science. Chemistry in fact. After weeks of trying to find a line combination to get David Pastrnak on track, creating the line of Geekie and Pastrnak with Pavel Zacha has caused all three of them to flourish.

Geekie and Pastrnak have combined for six goals in the last seven games.

“We’ve played together for a while now. It’s fun, it’s always fun to play with guys with lots of skill,” Geekie said. “For me, personally, you’re kind of in awe of the things he does with the puck. Just try to get open. It’s lots of fun right now so keep having fun.”

Pastrnak has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 12 January games. After struggling early, he’s back over a point per game for the season and is almost back on pace to reach 100 points for the third straight season. His 24 goals and 35 assists both lead the Bruins and his 59 points and ninth in the NHL.

“It’s clicking right now. We’ve been finding each other,” said Pastrnak, who made sure Zacha wasn’t forgotten. “I think all three of us are connected...it’s always fun when you have the chemistry with your linemates.”

Assembling this line is one of Joe Sacco’s best moves since becoming the interim coach.

“That line has developed some chemistry the last little while. They’re finding their spots, reading off each other well,” he said. “Geeks is doing a good job, finishing his chances. And 88′s playing pretty good hockey right now.”