Andrej Meszaros seeing a spike in production in Boston.

With steady Bruin rearguards, Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid taking up residence on the injured reserve, the defending Eastern Conference champs seemed noticeably thin on the backend. The Bruins had in fact dropped three of five heading into March, including an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the NHL's worst team, the Buffalo Sabres.

While youngster, Adam Bartkowski has been admirable in his first full season as a pro, an outside source was targeted by Peter Chiarelli to beef up the Blueline contingent from a defensive perspective. Andrej Meszaros was ultimately acquired from Philly for third round pick. For an expiring contract, not a bad catch at all, at $2 million per. Though it remains to be seen why the Flyer's felt their playoff run could be aided by weakening their defensive core.

Anyhow, much to the benefit of Meszaros, Coach Claude Julien has paired him up primarily with stalwart, Zdeno Chara. He's seen time in all situations and has acquitted himself well thus far, with a goal and two helpers since arriving. In five games, that has equaled the single tally that both Seidenberg and McQuaid had put up through 34 and 30 games respectably. He's also walked into a tie for third in goals for Bruins' defensemen on the season.

Andrej Meszaros' Most Common Pairing Combination in Boston (Post-Trade) via Frozen Pools

In fact, the Bruins have been perfect since dealing for the veteran defenseman, becoming far and away the hottest team in the league. The Bruins are now in the midst of a 10-game winning streak with only one defeat on home ice since January! The good times continue to roll on in Beantown, with the Slovakian having fit in quite nicely thus far, albeit only a couple weeks in.

Mezaros has been known for his solid stay-at-home play over his career, even challenging for the NHL plus/minus Title back in 2010-11, finishing only three off the NHL leader. However, with a rough couple years in Pennsylvania, his plus/minus totals have dipped; But he's already seeing improvement with a spike immediately achieved after moving to Boston.

Meszaros is not typically known for his offensive exploits, however he's been very reliable and I firmly believe, a snazzy pickup by Boston. He ranks only 68^th in the league among blueliners but that's mostly because he missed 30 games earlier this season.

If you take his per-game rate of 0.46 and prorate to the 69 games the Bruins have played thus far, you're looking at a 32-point player. If you further prorate that over the full campaign, he'd be looking at a 38 point campaign, one point off his 2005-2006 career high.

Therefore, even just going with his current overall production rate of 0.46, Meszaros jumps from 68^th in the league amongst defensemen scoring up to 28^th; only one back of his giant rearguard partner!….and ahead of the likes of Dion Phaneuf, Dan Boyle, Justin Schultz, Kimmo Timonen, etc.

However, once you factor in that his full-time partner is now Mr. Chara himself, his value is undeniably higher than it has ever been in his career. Chara's presence and the Bruins environment in general have him positioned to produce at a high rate. He was already within reach of said career highs in Philly alongside legends like Luke Schenn, Nicklas Grossman and Hal Gill, thus you can see why this move was huge for him.

Andrej Meszaros' Most Common Pairing Combination in Philadelphia (Pre-Trade)via Frozen Pools

Going forward expect these elevated levels of production to continue. His already decent 38-point pace should be market- adjusted for his Chara marriage and new Boston home in general. Unfortunately there's not enough games left to see a largely marked difference, but some improved producton down the stretch should be anticipated nonetheless.

Give Anthony Lancione a follow on Twitter @Anthisdaman

Previously in Forensics:

Roberto Luongo

Martin St. Louis