Chris Kelly had no idea that the Bruins had placed Chris Bourque on waivers until he was asked about it following Boston's 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs Thursday. The team had made the move well earlier in the day with the intention of assigning Bourque to Providence, but Kelly both looked confused and said he was confused when asked what Bourque could work on in the AHL, assuming he was to clear.

That's accidentally symbolic of how usually not quite completely on the same page Kelly, Bourque and Rich Peverley were in the early going this season, as Bourque struggled to fit in with Kelly and Peverley, while the two longtime linemates have been unable to repeat production of seasons past.

The intended assignment to Providence brings about almost a merciful break from Bourque’s time in Boston this season. With the wins coming in Boston and not many major issues with the club, the third line -- and Bourque in particular -- had to deal with both scrutiny and the frustration that comes with not producing.

"Obviously, Bourque is a great player. Rich and I, we wanted to succeed. We wanted to succeed with Bourquey," Kelly said Thursday night. "We want to succeed with whoever we play with. For whatever reason, the bounces weren't going in." 

In 18 games this season (16 of which were spent on Kelly's line), Bourque had one goal and three assists for four points with a minus-6 rating. He worked hard, and though at times he appeared to be a victim of bad luck (making a great diving play to keep the puck in at the blue line on the power play but sending it off the opponents' skates and out of the zone) he often looked like a player who had never played more than 20 games at the NHL level in a given season and was still trying to string some offensive success together. 

And that, to be fair, is what he was. He did everything he could, said all the right things and kept the right mindset, but Bourque, despite his name, isn't a superstar who suddenly couldn't click with a new team. He's a player with potential in his mid-to-late 20s (27) who is still looking to find both offense and a season-long spot on an NHL roster. Those probably will go hand in hand when it comes together for Bourque, whether in Boston or elsewhere.

In his time with B’s so far this season, the team has given him every chance it could. The B's put him on the power play, where he had three assists. While that's good power-play production for a player with a team that's had its issues on the man advantage, it also means that his goal on Feb. 2 against the Leafs was his only point while playing on his line. 

Assuming he clears waivers, the Bruins hope to give Bourque the opportunity to get into the lineup each time out in Providence while being able to focus on getting to where he needs to be.

"He's a good player," Claude Julien said. "Maybe playing a little bit more and getting more confidence there will help him be the player he was before the lockout ended."

Of course, he was playing in the AHL before the lockout ended, so while his eight goals and 20 assists over 32 games looked fine, there will always be the question of whether he can do that at the NHL level.

Of course, the weight of the team's third-line woes shouldn't fall solely on Bourque. While the Bruins are on pace for the most points in the Eastern Conference this season, the Kelly line, featuring Bourque in all but four of the Bruins' 21 games this season, has struggled to muster offense, leaving Kelly (1 goal, four assists) with a minus-7 rating and Peverley (three goals, three assists) with a team-worst minus-9. When you consider that Kelly's plus-33 last season was tied with Zdeno Chara for third in the league, that's alarming.

"It seems like when it rains, it pours," Kelly said. "The bounces go the other way and you look at the minus column. I don't think we've been that bad, but when you're not scoring goals to offset the minuses, they show pretty lopsided compared to the rest of the team." 

What happens with the Kelly line going forward remains to be seen. Jay Pandolfo skated with the trio against Toronto on Thursday, while Daniel Paille has played three games on the third line in three games. If there's a spot that would seem to need the most obvious addressing prior to the trade deadline, it would figure to be that third line left wing. 

In the meantime, they'll work with what they've got. Julien agreed that the third line had a more stable game Thursday, and the trio had scoring chances that included Peverley nearly netting his fourth of the season with around three minutes left in the third period. 

"It will come around," Kelly said. "We're both positive guys and we don't think us scoring is bigger than the team's success. We'll never act that way or treat it that way. The team's winning and we're smiling after the game, even though it would have been nice to score a couple."