Mikey Eyssimont and Morgan Geekie Lead Bruins’ New-Look Second Line

Mikey Eyssimont does not want to go back to Providence.

After James Hagens suffered a back injury that will force him to miss multiple weeks, Eyssimont got the call, and he made the most of it in his season debut.

Just over six minutes into the first period, Fraser Minten picked out Eyssimont in the trapezoid. A slight twist of the hips sent Panthers defenseman Seth Jones crashing down to the ice, allowing Eyssimont to wrap around Jacob Markstrom’s net. Eventually, the puck was forced home.

Scoring is nothing out of the ordinary for the 30-year-old this season. In just eight games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, he’s fired in 13 goals and three assists during his first minor-league stint since 2022-23. He wasn’t going to stay down for long.

“It was great to be back,” Eyssimont said on Sunday. “It always feels good. Obviously, my duties here are vastly different than the role I was filling, but it feels great.”

His call-up was imminent after recording a natural hat trick against the Hamilton Hammers on Friday. Trailing 4-2 with about two minutes remaining, Eyssimont exploded for three goals in just 1:43 to win the game, 5-4. It was his third hat trick of the season, and he still remains squarely atop the AHL scoring leaderboard.

Now in his sixth NHL season, Eyssimont has been around the professional ranks for a while now. Head coach Marco Sturm cited his understanding of the league and the physicality necessary to play against the aggressive Florida Panthers for his insertion into the lineup.

“I needed a veteran, not just to score goals, but to manage the game the right way,” Sturm said. “I’m glad he reacted, after he got sent down to the minors, he reacted the right way. And now he’s just waited for his opportunity.”

With Hagens out, Marat Khusnutdinov moved down to the third line, and Eyssimont joined up with Minten and Morgan Geekie on the second. Geekie has come alive in the last four games, registering a goal in four consecutive contests.

For a guy who scored 39 times a season ago, just one goal across the first 14 games of the season was a disappointing start, to say the least. Geekie has started to find his form during the current four-game winning streak, and that’s a dangerous sight for a team already sitting atop the Atlantic Division.

On Sunday, Geekie blasted a one-timer from an acute angle deep in the left faceoff circle. The power play goal was scored on a 5-on-3 and effectively put the game to bed. Boston is now 8-1 at the TD Garden in 2026-27.

The new-look third line combined for nine shots on goal and did its best to stay out of the penalty shenanigans. The modern-day rivalry produced a whopping 126 penalty minutes, leaving Eyssimont with a decreased 8:14 time on ice, given the mass amounts of special teams opportunities.

In limited minutes, Eyssimont proved himself worthy of staying in the lineup, Geekie is on a tear and Minten has logged a point in back-to-back wins. The second line may be makeshift at the moment, but it’s producing exactly what the Bruins need right now.

Boston will get three whole days off to recover from the chaotic Panthers matchup before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Nov. 12, for the second leg of a four-game homestand.

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