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Two games into the season, and on the heels of a 4-1 loss to
Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday, the Boston Bruins have attained two of a possible four points. That is, by the very definition, so-so hockey, at least in regards to point totals.
It goes without saying that the Black and Gold need more than so-so hockey to compete this season. Yet, at the same time, it’s hard to crucify the Bruins for the way they’ve competed through the first 120 minutes of the season, even if it’s been against two of the teams many have picked to be among the basement dwellers in the Eastern Conference in the Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Whether it’s been accepted or not, the Bruins are a team very much in transition. And this year, unlike the facade the club put on the ice a year ago, or the year before that for that matter, the Bruins are actually invested in a development mode. It’s the only plausible explanation for having the 19-year-old
Brandon Carlo thrown the wolves of NHL minutes on Boston’s top pairing instead of letting him ravage the American Hockey League as a 25-minute a night stud with the Providence Bruins. Same logic can be applied to first-year professional
Robbie O’Gara, too.
There’s no doubt that injuries played a hand in letting Carlo and O’Gara find time for their NHL debuts, of course, but the Bruins could have just as easily plugged John-Michael Liles next to Zdeno Chara on their first pairing and signed
Christian Ehrhoff to be their No. 4 defenseman. But they didn’t.
They are actually, honestly invested in the idea of their developing their younger defensemen. In essence, there are going to be nights like the one the Bruins had in Toronto on Saturday night.
And although the Bruins are still very much a win/loss team overall, it’s whether or not the Bruins’ young guns of today (and tomorrow) -- with the help of their deep leadership core of veterans like a David Backes, Brad Marchand, Chara and battle-tested not-so-old veterans such as Krug -- respond to the losses with
actual progress in their game that will be the true test of their capabilities.
That’s what makes tonight’s head-to-head with the Winnipeg Jets real interesting for the Bruins.
The Bruins are
still without Patrice Bergeron, so it’s once again all hands on deck.
But does a Carlo, once again matched up against a team with tons of offensive skill from Blake Wheeler to 2016 No. 2 overall pick Patrick Laine, learn from a rough night against the speedy Leafs? ‘Cause they’ll need him to do just that. Can a Danton Heinen find a way to contribute with tangible results on David Krejci’s right? ‘Cause Bruins, and especially Krejci, need that. And can David Pastrnak, who has been a monster through two games, keep it up on Boston’s top line? They’ll need it.
The Bruins split last year’s season series with the Jets, at 1-1-0 with eight goals for and against.
In Net: Tuukka Rask vs. Connor Hellebuyck
The Bruins are expected to close out this trip with
Tuukka Rask in net after an unexpected off night in Toronto last Saturday with what’s been called a sore leg. The 29-year-old Rask was solid in his season debut, a 28-of-31 performance in a win against the Blue Jackets last Thursday, and comes into play with 10 wins and a .928 save percentage in 16 career head-to-heads with the Jets.
Winnipeg counters with
Connor Hellebuyck. The Michigan-born goaltender stopped 23-of-27 shots against in an overtime win last Thursday, and enters play with 14 wins and a .916 save percentage in 27 career games. Hellebuyck has made one prior start against the B’s in his career, though he did not make it past the first period, with three goals on 11 shots against in 20 minutes.
Other news and notes
Defenseman
Joe Morrow and forward
Tim Schaller are the expected healthy scratches for the B’s. Bergeron (lower-body) remains out of action, though the Bruins expect him to join practices when the team returns to Boston, along with d-men Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller.
The Jets will be without top-six center
Bryan Little (lower-body injury).
A name you will not see in the lineup for the Jets? Defenseman
Jacob Trouba.
A holdout that wants out of Winnipeg, the Bruins have certainly inquired and done their homework on the 22-year-old defender, but I do not believe that the two are an optimal match as trade partners given what Winnipeg would want, which is help in the now, particularly on defense. Read as: I don’t see the Bruins parting with Torey Krug to obtain Trouba, as they’d like to acquire a Trouba, a right-handed defenseman with top-pairing upside, to help supplement a Krug and Zdeno Chara.
It also doesn’t help that Boston’s areas of strength in trade negotiations -- NHL-quality centers and goaltending depth (Malcolm Subban is at the door) -- are not positions of a pressing need for the Jets.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can also be read in the New England Hockey Journal magazine. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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