When the already banged up Bruins lost number one defenseman Zdeno Chara and then top center Patrice Bergeron in back-to-back games, their season could have taken a turn for the worse.
But instead, they’ve taken the challenge head on and are finding ways to pick up points with an unlikely cast of heroes.
With the struggling Penguins in town Friday, it was Joakim Nordstrom’s turn to play the role of hero.
Playing on the third line with Colby Cave and Noel Acciari for most of the game, Nordstrom was given a shot to make some plays in overtime, with a different cast of players, but an unlikely result came instead.
“No, he’s part of, he’s one of the six that was going to go with Pasta [David Pastrnak]. He’s played a little overtime for us. He can cover a lot of ice. He’s responsible. The way things were going, we were losing so quick, you have to extend it a little bit to give ourselves a chance to get the puck. So, that was one of the goals as well with him,… said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
Cassidy admitted he wasn’t expecting Nordstrom to pick up the game winning goal in overtime, but he’s not going to complain that he did.
“Did I think he’d score the winner? No, but hey it worked out that way and good for him. He’s a pretty responsible player in all situations, does a lot of penalty killing for us, hasn’t seen the power play, so it’s nice when a guy like that gets rewarded.…
Regardless of how much the Penguins are struggling, they’re never an easy team to contain. With Sidney Crosby in town, the Bruins had the tough task of shutting down the Crosby line. Looking for more from the defensive side of his game, Cassidy gave Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson a crack at shutting Crosby down.
Mission accomplished
“Listen, he battled. Listen, he’s seven games in, two games ago I was concerned he could handle a third-line role. I just saw some growth in Detroit and thought well, let’s see if he can take another step against Crosby,… said Cassidy. “He’s got two good wingers with him offensively, but if he could take care of the defensive thing. Listen, they had some chances. I know our goaltending had to come through, usually does, but to keep them on five-on-five goals you have to give credit to everybody on the ice against a good offensive team. Certainly, he was part of that.…
Crosby failed to factor in the scoring, despite five shots on goal in 23:12 of ice time. As Cassidy alluded to, there’s work to be done with Forsbacka Karlsson, but passing the Crosby test is a confidence booster for the rookie.
“Well I think I’m definitely gaining some confidence. The more you play, you know other guys you play with, you know different guys on the team, you gain confidence,… said Forsbacka Karlsson. “So, I think it’s just going to keep going.…
As much as the Bruins have been getting key contributions from unlikely heroes, who knows where the Bruins would be without the play of their goaltending, especially in the last four games.
Jaroslav Halak made 36 saves on 37 shots, picking up his 8th win of the season. Between Halak and Tuukka Rask, the two have split duties evenly over the last four games, combining for a 1.48 goals-against average.
“Well, I mean we’re going to be a tough team to beat. Any team would be if both their goalies are going well. Let’s face it, we knew what we had in Tuukka and Halak was a – we’ve said all along – we thought would be a very good backup. He’s been a starter in this league, so that’s an area we feel we have covered, goaltending on a regular basis,… said Cassidy “You need it in this league. All of a sudden you lose half your d-core and you need it more.…
The Bruins travel to Montreal Saturday to take on the Canadiens. Will there be another unlikely hero in Montreal?