In the first period of the Bruins’ 5-2 win over Columbus on Thursday, Riley Nash did not record an assist on Matt Beleskey’s first goal of the season. It was one of those plays, however, on which the player who did nothing on the scoresheet did everything on the ice to produce the goal.

After taking a pass from Brandon Saad, Dalton Prout backtracked into the Columbus zone to initiate the regroup. The Bruins were occupying Prout’s half of the ice. So the right-side defenseman decided to make the sound play of hitting partner Markus Nutivaara with a D-to-D pass.

Nash did his best to disrupt the play.

The No. 3 center was the first forward on the forecheck. As F1, Nash’s job was to force the puck carrier to make a bad decision. He did just that.

First, Nash closed on Prout quicker than the defenseman anticipated. By approaching with his stick extended, Nash made Prout rush his pass to Nutivaara. Instead of hitting his partner with a tape-to-tape feed, Prout fired a puck that Nutivaara couldn’t handle cleanly on his backhand.

As Nutivaara tried to switch to his forehand, Nash continued to forecheck. Before Nash approached, Nutivaara banked the puck off the boards in hopes of clearing the zone. Austin Czarnik, however, picked off the clear, saw Beleskey with his stick poised in the high slot, and connected with his left wing.

Goal: Beleskey. Assist: Czarnik. All the work: Nash.

“I think our skating legs are something [coach Claude Julien] has talked to us about,’’ Beleskey said. “Skating, getting some speed in the neutral zone, getting in on the forecheck. When you’re doing that, things start happening for you like they did tonight.’’

The third line had been one of the Bruins’ liabilities. The line submitted 10 straight games of zeroes. By Nov. 3 against Tampa Bay, Julien had seen enough of Beleskey on the ice to like him better off it. On Nov. 5, when Nash recorded his first point as a Bruin, it came with Jimmy Hayes serving the first of two straight games in the press box.

The thing that concerned Julien about the No. 3 line wasn’t just its 0-0—0 run. Every line goes cold. But Beleskey, Nash, and Hayes weren’t even creating chances. Everything was off about the threesome, starting with their legs. They were in constant chase mode because they weren’t skating well enough, especially without the puck.

The No. 3 line’s ragged play took place at the same time the second line was trying to find its game, too. The only units Julien could depend on were his first and fourth lines. Forwards 4 through 9 were missing, allowing opponents to train all their firepower on neutralizing Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.

The way the third line’s legs have reawakened forces teams to worry about more than one scoring unit. Nash has one goal and two assists in the last four games. Beleskey has a goal and two helpers in the last three games. Czarnik, Hayes’s replacement as No. 3 right wing over the last four games, has also tallied a goal and two assists.

“Good little player,’’ Beleskey said of his small and skilled right wing. “He’s fun to be around. When he gets that confidence and plays like that, he’s going to help the team out huge.’’

The third line chewed up Nutivaara and Prout. But that’s what good third lines are meant to do. They are supposed to target fringe defensemen like Prout. The stay-at-home right-side defenseman, a healthy scratch for five games, was in the lineup partly because of Seth Jones’s broken foot. The Bruins made Columbus pay for its compromised lineup by scoring twice against Nutivaara and Prout.

“We had a lot of unforced turnovers in our own end, and that’s the story of the game,’’ said Columbus coach John Tortorella. “We’re out of the game pretty quickly. We haven’t been in many of those games this year.’’

The Bruins’ depth has taken a hit. Noel Acciari will be out for the next month because of a lower-body injury. Acciari, Tim Schaller, and Dominic Moore had been part of a fourth line whose sum of hard skating, smashmouth checking, and timely goals was better than its parts.

For the second time this year, the Bruins recalled Sean Kuraly from Providence Friday to give them an extra forward for their three-game road swing. Hayes, Acciari’s replacement for the last two games, remains parked on 0-0—0.

But the Bruins are feeling better about themselves. David Backes scored an even-strength goal in the third against Columbus, snapping a three-game scoreless streak. The third line punched in two goals. Schaller put the fourth line on the board with a backhander that chased Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Depth matters. For now, the Bruins finally have it up front.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.