There was a time when Jordan Caron could have been considered the Ross Ventrone of the Bruins. 

The 2009 first-round pick out of the QMJHL figured to have a spot on this season’s team, but went in and out of both the lineup and the NHL early in the season. Much like the oft-cut (and then signed) Patriots defensive back, it seemed the Bruins were sending out press releases regarding a Caron transaction on a regular basis. 

So far this season, Caron has been sent to Providence and recalled six different times. However, if the last two games have been any indication, it looks like Caron is not only ready to stay in the lineup (given all of the Bruins’ injuries, they don’t really have a choice), but make the kind of impact that the team was hoping for when they chose him 25th overall. 

Prior to Sunday, Caron had six goals and six assists for 12 points in 53 career NHL games. He had yet to fully make an impact at the NHL level, and was beginning to look like one of those guys who optimists would describe as “good in all three zones.” That can often mean that a player is only good defensively, but it sounds a lot nicer. 

Then Sunday happened: Caron forced a pair of turnovers and had the first multi-point game of his career, assisting a Benoit Pouliot goal and adding a goal of his own.

On Tuesday, he one-upped himself. The 21-year-old scored a pair of goals and added an assist that came from him driving to the net hard and bringing Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn with him. The play allowed Chris Kelly to bang home the rebound for his career-high 16th goal of the season. 

Caron now has three goals and two assists over his last two games. The Bruins certainly can’t expect him to keep up that pace, but they can expect him to stay active in the offensive zone.

Claude Julien said earlier in the season that Caron was showing how good he is in his own zone, but that the team wanted his offensive game to be there. The Bruins are starting to see it now, and as long as its there, the B’s could get a surge that they may not have been expecting from the youngster. 

Considering the injuries the Bruins have on offense (Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley, Daniel Paille and now Benoit Pouliot after the third-line wing left Tuesday’s game in the second period), the Bruins don’t just need bodies to fill spots. They need the guys who are already there to pick up their games. It seems Caron is answering that call at the right time for the B’s. 

WILL THURSDAY BE THE DAY?

On Thursday, the Bruins can do something they’ve already done 20 times this year, yet it would renew fans’ faith throughout New England: they can win their second game in a row. 

It sounds like a simple feat, but the Bruins have struggled to do it since beating the Jets and Canadiens on Jan. 10 and 12, respectively. It’s been 25 games since the B’s have strung two wins together, and they haven’t been pretty. The B’s have been shut out in three of the last six games following a Boston win, and they have not scored more than two goals in a game following a win in over a month. 

Seven of the Bruins’ four losses directly following a win have come to non-playoff teams. Two of the other losses came to the Rangers, so although the B’s have had to deal with the best team in the conference three times since Jan. 21 (the third came Sunday after a Bruins’ loss), it’s generally against weaker competition that the B’s have struggled to put together winning streaks. 

They’ll face another non-playoff team Thursday when they host the Sabres, and Buffalo has plenty of experience preventing the B’s from winning two and a row. The Bruins were coming off a 4-1 win over the Capitals before the Sabres gave them a 6-0 shellacking at First Niagara Center, arguably the Bruins’ worst loss of the season. 

The B’s were also stopped by the Sabres late last month on their six-game road trip, as they followed a 4-2 win over the Blues with a 2-1 loss in a shootout to the Sabres. 

Will Thursday finally be the day that the Bruins win two in a row, and more importantly, will that give the Bruins the shot of life they have so clearly needed over the last two months? That will be found out Thursday, but if the answer is no, the streak could go on for a while longer given how tricky their schedule gets. The B’s have road games against the Penguins and Panthers coming up over the next week, and they’ll face the Flyers and Sharks later in the month.