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Had it not been for a freak accident at a Wednesday practice that’s left Brett Connolly with a six-week recovery after suffering a broken finger on a Dennis Seidenberg shot to the hand, the Boston Bruins would be getting their first look at what the 22-year-old can bring to the team.
Instead, it’s just another challenge for an embattled Black and Gold squad.
“Every day this year, we seem to have a new challenge or news like that coming out,… Boston coach Claude Julien said on Thursday morning. “We just got to go through that but you have to feel for the player who was really looking forward to coming to us and playing for us. I liked what I saw in practice. Good size, good skater, can shoot the puck well. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would have helped our hockey club so we’re just going to have to wait a little longer here.…
The injury likely puts an end to any hope for seeing Connolly in regular-season action, and puts the 6-foot-2 winger in a situation where he’ll have to learn their tendencies from the press box above.
“He can watch games. Meaning he’ll see a lot and I mean that. he can watch games he’ll see a lot from how we play and what’s expected more than just saying when he was in Tampa—we’re going to play these guys four times, they don’t pay as much attention but he’ll catch on to different things,… Julien said of Connolly. “I don’t think it’s going to be a big issue of him fitting in and knowing how we play more than him getting his game going when the time comes and feel like he’s got confidence in his skating, his hands, making plays and shooting pucks so I think that will be the biggest thing.…
But the Bruins will get a debut from one of their deadline acquisitions, however, as 31-year-old Maxime Talbot, wearing No. 25, will make his debut (likely) on Boston’s fourth line.
“He can play both and depending on what ends up happening tonight whether [Chris Kelly] goes at center or the wing or vice versa or I move guys, I can always move [Dan Paille] down again and Kells up,… Julien said of Talbot’s versatility and what it means for the rest of the lineup. “So there’s a lot of different things I can do. But he can play both and I like the fact on a lot of occasions, especially in our own end that you have two guys that can take draws on the same line.…
His presence is expected to bolster a Boston club that’s in search of their fourth win in the last five games, and looking for a strong rebound game against a Flames squad they squandered a 3-0 lead against in a 4-3 overtime defeat back at the Scotiabank Saddledome in February.
“They have a lot of confidence in their game,… Julien said of the Flames. “Because they play that type of game they have a tendency to wear teams down at times and they’ve been able to make some pretty impressive comebacks. Again it goes back to what I’ve said for the last few weeks, it’s not who we play but how we play and we have to understand that every game has a big meaning from here on end.…
Calgary comes to the Hub third in the Pacific (with LA and San Jose both on their heels with 72-point marks as well), with points in six of their last 10, and with 17 wins in 31 road contests this season.
The Flames will give the start to Karri Ramo. The 28-year-old Ramo has been downright sensational of late, too, with 126 stops on 131 shots over his last four starts (.962 save percentage). Much of Ramo’s success in 2014-15 has come on the road, too, with six wins and a .938 save percentage in 12 road games this season. The Finnish netminder was chased from his last start against the Bruins, however, after allowing three goals on just 11 shots back on Feb. 16.
Boston will likely counter with Tuukka Rask. While Rask comes into this one with wins in just three of his last nine starts, the 27-year-old rolls into this one on the heels of a strong 31-of-32 showing against Arizona this past Saturday, and has 17 wins and a .930 save percentage in 28 starts at TD Garden this season. Rask took the overtime in his last start against Calgary in a 23-of-27 effort, but has three wins and a .950 save percentage in four career games against the Flames.
- Reilly Smith has points in six of his last seven games (two goals, six assists).
- Boston rookie David Pastrnak has three goals and eight points in his last 10 games.
- B’s center Carl Soderberg is on a 16-game goalless skid.
- Jiri Hudler has six goals and 10 points in nine career games against the Bruins.
- Calgary defender TJ Brodie has six goals and 25 points in 31 road games this year.
Other news and notes
While he’s ‘close’ to a return according to B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli, fourth-line forward Gregory Campbell (upper-body) will not play tonight, according to Julien. The Bruins will continue to skate without the services of David Krejci (knee) and Kevan Miller (shoulder).
The biggest injury for the Flames, of course, comes with the loss of defenseman Mark Giordano, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn bicep.
Calgary forward Matt Stajan, who was away from the team to be with his wife for the birth of their child, has rejoined the team, but will not play in tonight’s game in Boston.
Bruin-turned-Avalanche Jordan Caron made his Colorado debut last night, and actually skated in a top-six role for Patrick Roy’s club, playing on the left-wing on a line with Matt Duchene and Jarome Iginla. (That’s a shot that Caron was never really given here in Boston, and something he acknowledged in his introductory conference with the Colorado media.) The 6-foot-3 Caron logged 13:18 of time on ice in 19 shifts, and while the Avs are far from advanced stats darlings, Caron finished the night with the worst Corsi-for (20%) among Avalanche forwards at even-strength.
The Bruins also officially announced the signing of forward Justin Hickman to an entry-level contract. The 6-foot-3 Hickman has spent his entire junior career with the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), and has recorded 55 goals and 77 assists while racking up 466 penalty minutes in 285 games for Seattle, and scored one goal in five games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 2014 amateur tryout.
On a lighter note, Happy Birthday, Milt Schmidt. He turns 97 today.
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