If you’ve ever looked at Brett Connolly’s head shot and then felt a jolt of shock after checking out his birth date, you’re not alone among those who believe the Bruins winger is older than his listed age.

“The fans are pretty funny with it, too,” Connolly said. “I get a few fans giving me a hard time about, ‘There’s no way that kid is 23, check his birth certificate.’ ”

But since May 2, Connolly has been 23. And we know these matters have been investigated as much as possible because he was drafted at 18, sixth overall in the 2010 NHL draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Although Connolly’s youth was part of what made him attractive to former Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli as a trade target last March (the Bruins sent two second-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning), right now the only thing that matters is he’s one of the team’s hottest scorers.

After he was a healthy scratch Oct. 17 against the Arizona Coyotes, Connolly returned to score a goal in two straight games. It’s the third time in his NHL career he has scored in back-to-back contests.

“I think it was just he came in and played a little better after that game he sat out,” coach Claude Julien said. “He didn’t have a good game and we knew that we could get more out of him. And he’s giving us that.”

Connolly started the season on a line that became synonymous with goals-against with center Ryan Spooner and winger Jimmy Hayes. During the team’s 0-3-0 start, Connolly had no points and a minus-5 rating. In the B’s first win, Oct. 14 against the Colorado Avalanche, Connolly had an assist and a plus-1.

Despite Connolly’s uptick in performance, Julien picked him to sit out against the Coyotes when Brad Marchand returned from injury. There were things Connolly needed to correct in his game.

“We’ve been watching lots of video. I think habits that I’ve had and habits that a lot of guys have, just trying to correct that,” Connolly said. “I think me and Claude have a good understanding of what we can expect from each other. I think for moving forward it’s a matter of being consistent and doing that all the time. So it was a good talk. Claude’s very honest and he’ll tell you what he needs from you. It’s not the first time I’ve been criticized in my career. So you’ve just got to respond to it and take it with a grain of salt. There’s positives in it. Obviously, he wants what’s best for me. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt and improve.”

Matt Beleskey’s “upper-body” injury opened up another spot in the lineup Wednesday. Connolly wound up on a line with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, and started his goal-scoring streak in the overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at the Garden. He added goal No. 2 as a Bruin in Friday night’s road win against the New York Islanders. Healthy scratches, goal binges, minus-rating nights — these things are all part of the learning process for a young player regardless of how old he looks.

“I don’t care if you’re a first-round pick or you’re a free agent, it’s what you do on the ice that matters. And if he just focuses on that, because he’s got good skills, he’s got tons of it, he’s got the size, he’s got the shot, so that’s what he’s done the last few games,” Julien said. “He’s just gone out there and played. We also know that he’s young. That’s something we know already, so like anybody else that’s young you’ve got to work with those guys and help them be better players.”

Connolly hasn’t taken measures to look younger. He just has one hope for the future.

“Hopefully, when I turn 30 I don’t look like I’m 50,” Connolly said.

The B’s hope Connolly will still be piling up goals for them then regardless of what he looks like.