Fraser Minten, in coach Marco Sturm’s eyes, is getting it.

That much was clear on Tuesday when, with the Bruins looking for the tying goal late in the third period, he tapped the rookie to jump up to the top line with David Pastrnak and Marat Khusnutdinov. And the line came through.

With 4:54 left in regulation, Pastrnak found Minten in the slot and, just before the Islanders’ Emil Heineman leveled a big hit on him, Minten landed a rebound-producing shot on Ilya Sorokin. Khusnutdinov swooped in to collect and scored on a diving backhander to tie it up and send it to extra time, where Khusnutdinov then won it on the only shootout goal.

While the 21-year-old Minten might not be the obvious choice when you’re looking for instant offense – he’s got 2-3-5 totals in 15 games with his goals coming on an OT 3-on-3 and an empty netter – good things tend to happen when you play the right way. Sturm sees Minten’s game in that light, especially lately.

“It wasn’t just (Tuesday) but in the last little bit, it’s just his jump, his speed through the middle,” said Sturm on Wednesday. “He’s picked it up for a while now, so that was one of the things where (I thought) ‘maybe it’ll help Pasta a little bit, too with more directness.’ Not just with the one guy (Minten) but also another guy with (Khusnutdinov), who can play that same kind of style.”

Minten played a career-high 16:28 on Long Island, including 2:27 on the penalty kill that went 3-for-3. It was hard not get a positive message from his late-game usage.

“It’s good that Marco wants me out there at the end of the game when we need a goal,” said Minten. “I think it’s an area of my game where I want to contribute. I’m not always the guy who’s out there for that, but it’s nice to be out there and have it be successful.”

Minten, drafted 38th overall in 2022 by the Maple Leafs, was obtained from Toronto last March in the Brandon Carlo deal that also netted the B’s a 2026 first-rounder and 2025 fourth-rounder (defenseman Vashek Blanar) in a deal that has the potential to be a very good one for the B’s. He played 19 NHL games games before arriving last season and played six more here at the end of last season.

Sturm is watching him grow up right in front of his eyes.

“He’s a guy who had to learn how to play in this league,” said Sturm. “He came in really hot, but then he slowed down for a little bit. He was just kind of processing everything like ‘What’s going on here? How do I have to play? When do I go, when not?’ And now he slowly gets it, the way he has to play. And now he’s on top of it. His speed, his motor has been really good. And he’s a big killer for us. We don’t have too many killers. I use him in a lot of different situations and I’m really happy about his (development).”

Bumping Minten up is now an option that Sturm has in his back pocket, but the coach believes Minten playing on the third line between Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic is the best fit for him right now. And he’s not concerned about offensive production from him just yet.

“He’s still climbing his ladder. But I’m not looking at that,” said Sturm. “I’m more looking at how can he play defensively first? How can we trust him as a two-way player? That’s why on the third line, he’s in a good spot right now. He really is. We just have to be careful. Just because he’s playing good right now doesn’t mean we give him everything. No, I’m going to make sure we settle him down and just try to continue to work on his game and be consistent.”

Minten is taking an unusually mature, patient approach to his offense.

“Two-way hockey has always been my calling card and what I focus on,” said Minten. “If you do that right, though, production does come with that, so I’m just focusing on that and when it comes, it’ll come. You work on your shot as much as you can, your hands, your skills, so when you do get chances you have the ability to put it in the net. But the main focus is strong positional stuff, being responsible, moving my feet and playing hard. And being ready when chances do come.”

Learning curve

Sturm had said many times in training camp and even into the regular season that he was still getting to know his players. Now that he’s getting a better handle on his personnel, it has allowed him to be more proactive in shortening his bench, as he did on Long Island, and pushing other various buttons.

“I’m learning about my players,” said Sturm. “You can watch so many games in the summer but just in the last four weeks … I view some of the players a little bit differently. Now I know exactly what they can do, what not. Is it too much? Can I push them? Can I not? Those are the things you learn a little bit personally about certain players and about the team. It really helps.”

Plenty motivated

The B’s get another crack at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at the Garden. When the teams played on Oct. 27 in Ottawa, the B’s played their least competitive game of the season, getting drubbed, 7-2, and allowing four power-play goals on five man-advantage.

“It was the first time I didn’t feel any energy on the bench going into the third,” said Sturm. “So we can throw it away but I also think we can learn from it, that we can’t play like that. We can’t even take a period or two off because the league is that good. We shouldn’t even have a pre-scout (on Thursday). We should just let them play because that should be motivation enough for us to show an answer. Because that was not us.”