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As Dennis Seidenberg gets set to go under the knife and miss eight weeks, Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien has been left to make it work with what he has in camp.
Well I think it’s important for me right now to focus on what I’ve got and, you know, make sure I do the best to make it work,… Julien said on Wednesday when asked about the loss of Seidenberg. “That’s always part of the game when you got some players that got injured throughout the season so it’s unfortunate that it’s happened to him but I’ll move forward with the guys that we have and there’s a lot of guys that are eager to prove that they belong here…obviously that’ll give them a chance.…
That’s reflective of Julien’s lineup for tonight’s preseason tilt with the New York Rangers, which includes an NHL-er heavy lineup, with a focus on the B’s defensive six. On the blue line, the Bruins will roll with Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo as their top pairing, while Matt Irwin and Colin Miller round out the second-pairing, with Adam McQuaid and Joe Morrow rounding it out.
“Dennis Seidenberg is a real important part of our team, but we’ve played without him many times with injuries here,… admitted Julen. “So I’m just more or less looking at doing what we need to do here with the guys that we have and not so much what I’m going to miss about him and that’s what am I going to get from the other guys that are going to be replacing him that’s most important.…
Out of the six, only Carlo is a guy that’s basically guaranteed to not skate with the Big B’s in 2015. He’ll almost certainly return to Tri-City (WHL), where he’s served as a premier defender and leader.
Miller is a guy that seems like a fit for the Bruins, and as the B’s have him set for his second preseason tilt in three games, it’s clear that the Black and Gold want a long look of his skill-set at this level. Miller, of course, was a key piece in the Milan Lucic trade, and comes to the Hub on the heels of an impressive 19-goal, 52-point season for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.
But when it comes to replacing Seidenberg, the B’s need defensemen capable of logging harder minutes, which of course, complicates their decision-making process. At least at first glance.
“We’ll have extra Ds when the time comes so we’ll look at our lineup, what is best for us at that time I guess. Do we need a more offensive type of defenseman or guys that can kill? Depends, I always say the same thing: you play some big teams sometimes you need some weight out there,… Julien said of Seidenberg’s injury and its effect on Boston’s lineup. “Sometimes a not so heavy team so you can afford to have a little bit more of a lighter back end that can move the puck well also. And again, it’s about balancing the killers and the power play guys. Like I said there’s some guys here vying for some spots that can do that job, they just have to show that they’re ready to do it in Training Camp here in those preseason games and we’ll move forward with that.…
Obviously, as it has been the entire offseason, the defense will be the focal point of the Hub’s eyes. But up front, the Bruins will likely go with a top-line featuring Loui Eriksson as the right-winger of Boston’s forever formidable Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand combo. This line would be the absolute darling of analytic fans everywhere, as all three are strong possession players, and would be perhaps Boston’s best three-zone unit since the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin combo.
The Bruins will also give another look to a potential third line that features Ryan Spooner centering left-winger Jimmy Hayes and right-winger Brett Connolly.
In net, the Bruins will give this game to Jeremy Smith and Zane McIntyre.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com