I first want to apologize for the lack of blogs of late. My personal life has been a bit hectic lately and it’s made it hard to find time to post anything new. But here we are and should be back to normal moving forward.
As for the Bruins, well, there’s some things I haven’t been available to discuss so let’s jump right into it.
Hampus Lindholm:
The Bruins needed a defenseman and getting Lindholm was the right choice.
Did the Bruins give up a lot for him? Yes, but I am okay with it. Sweeney finally addressed a massive need, acquiring more than the “depth… that we’ve seen them acquire in previous seasons.
Once the Bruins signed Lindholm to an extension, it made the trade much more worth it for the Bruins.
I know last night was one game and I know Lindholm is not going to perform like that night in and night out, but boy, what a debut.
There were lots to like about Lindholm’s game in an impressive—I’ll get to that in a bit—win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night. His ability to retrieve pucks and quickly transition them out of the defensive zone was enjoyable to watch, a skill the Bruins too often lack.
Lindholm picked up his first point as a Bruin, getting the secondary assist on David Pastrnak’s first of three, an assist he absolutely earned.
Collecting the puck behind the Bruins net, Lindholm skated the puck along the boards and with Lightning forward Brandon Hagel applying pressure from the back, calmly sent a pass to Erik Haula who sprung Pastrnak into the offensive zone.
“Well, I think [Lindholm] was actually maybe a better puck-mover in the small area than I anticipated,… head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I’m thinking more about the size, mobility, ability to close plays and get his shot through on the offensive-zone blue line, but he made a lot of small-area plays on the breakout that’s going to benefit this hockey club.…
Between Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins finally have a top-pair defensive pairing for the foreseeable future.
Bruins miss out on a forward:
Max Domi, Rickard Rakell, Calude Giroux, Andrew Copp, Phil Kessel, the Bruins were in on all of them as they searched to solidify their top-six.
However, they came up empty.
“We certainly had an awful lot of inquiries in terms of what we were trying to probably augment our group. Moving the pieces around and where guys were going to play was a little bit of a challenge for us if it didn’t really move the needle,… general manager Don Sweeney said.
“Obviously, we would like to have probably added a little more depth there. But several of our guys have really stepped up and played well and feel that we’re in a good spot overall with our hockey club.…
It was the same ol’ song and dance, a frustrating one at that.
After the trade of Lindholm, it appeared the Bruins were ready to push the chips all in, go get a top-six forward and take one last serious run at a Stanley Cup.
Not that they still can’t take that swing, but I feel less confident in them doing so without addressing their need for more help offensively.
Yes, DeBrusk has been a nice addition to the top line and Pastrnak has been outstanding on a second line with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula. But when you look at the rest of the teams the Bruins are likely to see in the postseason, all of them made additions as well.
In a seven-game series against Tampa Bay or Florida, does DeBrusk or Haula in your top-six excite you?
Jake DeBrusk extended, not traded:
On deadline day, the Bruins and DeBrusk came to terms on a contract extension, signing the pending RFA to a two-year, $8 million extension.
Many thought it was a precursor to a trade that would come later in the day. In a way, it was, but that expected ensuing trade never came.
My understanding is that had the Bruins struck a deal to acquire one of the aforementioned forwards DeBrusk would have been dealt. Either in the same trade that landed the Bruins a new forward, or in a separate deal.
While DeBrusk wasn’t dealt before the deadline as he asked, it’s likely DeBrusk is shipped elsewhere in the off-season, his contract extension making a potential trade more attractive to other teams.
The Bruins have survived without Patrice Bergeron
Captain Patrice Bergeron has missed the Bruins last four games with an infection in his arm. The Bruins have weathered the storm, earning six of a possible eight points in Bergeron’s absence.
Bergeron met with team doctors on Thursday, hoping to be cleared for action and with it, a return Thursday night. Unfortunately, Bergeron was not given the green light and was out yet again.
"It was a bit of a curveball, because leading into today we thought he’d be cleared,… Cassidy said. “But doctors felt otherwise.…
Bergeron and the Bruins will try again Saturday in hopes of the captain returning to the lineup.
Bruins win entertaining bout with Lightning
Baring a collapse of epic proportion, the Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Whether that’s as a wild card or as one of the top three in the Atlantic remains to be seen.
Since Jan. 1, only the Colorado Avalanche (59) have more points than the Bruins at 55. With their run of late, the Bruins are back in the hunt in the Atlantic.
After Thursday’s win over the Lightning, the Bruins trail Tampa Bay by a point for the third spot in the Atlantic, trailing the second place Maple Leafs by two points.
While Thursday’s game with the Lightning was nothing more than a battle between two teams fighting for playoff positioning, it certainly felt like a playoff game. TD Garden was as loud as it’s been all year.
The game felt larger than it was.
“Obviously it’s a big win. Overall, any games against your division teams are big. We’ve been chasing those three teams for a while, so our main focus is on our game, grow our game,… Pastrnak said.
“We have tons of games left. To beat a great team like Tampa is a confidence booster. At the same time, I think we deserved the win today. I think we were the better team.…
The win was impressive in many ways as the Bruins improve to 2-0-1 against the Lightning. They did it without Bergeron and managed to erase deficits of 1-0 and 2-1.
When they needed their best players to step up, they did just that, leading to a pair of third period tallies by Pastrnak.
The Bruins will see Toronto two more times, Tampa Bay one more time. Like Pasta said, there’s tons of hockey left.