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For the first time in a long time, or perhaps the first time all season, the Boston Bruins, winners of four straight and hosting the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden tonight, are beyond healthy up front.
That’s put familiar faces in unfamiliar places. Like David Krejci on the wing of the Bergeron line, Reilly Smith down with the Swedes (Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson) on the third line, and David Pastrnak down as a fourth-line winger. But it’s also a good test run of sorts for a Boston coaching staff that’s still trying to figure out the absolute best way to configure their lines into the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs as an NHL15-esque ‘Best Lines’ button, there’s not.
“It makes it harder, but it makes it better because now I have decisions to make and when you have decisions to make and you have tough ones it creates accountability amongst players,… Claude Julien said after his team’s morning skate today. “If you want to be in the lineup or whatever the case is, there’s a lot more accountability and that’s one of the things, a few things that the coaches have left to manage their team is having those extra players and good players.…
The newest healthy body to disrupt the normal order of things is the 22-year-old Brett Connolly, who after missing 14 games with a broken finger suffered just days after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning, returned to action on Thursday night (and picked up two assists).
Connolly’s return sent grizzled veteran Max Talbot, to the press box as a healthy scratch, joining fellow veteran Danny Paille, stuck in a woesome year, as the seemingly exiled.
“Having good players have to sit out for different reasons and sometimes it’s just rotation, sometimes it’s poor play,… Julien said of his new-found lineup flexibility. “But no matter what, to me I’d rather be in this position right now than be in the position I was a month ago. This is what I have.…
The obvious elephant in the room comes back to Krejci and the need to get him back to center full-time. Of course, that comes back to when Krejci, who missed 15 games with a partially torn MCL in his left knee just weeks back, feels physically ready for the rigors of playing big minutes at pivot. They gave the 28-year-old the start at center in their last game -- centering Eriksson and Soderberg -- but the results were an utter disaster (as much as they could be for one period), prompting Krejci to return to the right-wing of the Patrice Bergeron line opposite Brad Marchand, where he finished the night.
“David doesn’t mind playing the wing with Bergy and Marchy. He’s very comfortable there. He says he’s feeling better at that position and we know he’s a good centerman as well,… said Julien. “You deal with the situation the way it needs to be dealt at the time. He’s been there and to me he’s producing, he’s making plays, his hands are still there. Him and Bergy seem to read off each other well as far as interchanging. That’s been kind of a little blessing in disguise that that’s been the case.…
But if/when Krejci is ready to return to the middle -- where he’s undoubtedly at his best -- what else happens? It’s a puzzle that fails to bring about a real clear answer. Ideally, I think the Bruins would like to roll with a line that features Connolly as the Iginla fit on a line with Milan Lucic and Krejci. But given Lucic’s chemistry with Ryan Spooner, taking the young talent away from Lucic seems like a gamble. And even if you did that, it then becomes a situation of where do you put Spooner? He’s a center, not a winger, a problem shared by Soderberg. For better or worse, there’s a dilemma with almost every move.
“We’re a team this year that’s had more fluctuation in our line combinations than ever,… admitted Julien. “I think it’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing at all. You’re going to go with the best combinations that you have at that time and if it doesn’t work you’ll find some other ones. But, you know, at least you can move guys around and guys have had success with different players so I don’t think it’s a bad situation. I’m comfortable with that.…
The Maple Leafs will give the start to James Reimer. The 27-year-old gets the nod in Boston after a ridiculous 40-of-41 showing against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, and has wins in two straight for just the third time this season (and first time since Dec. 10 - Dec. 14). The road has been unkind to Reimer, however, as the Manitoba-born netminder comes into play with just three wins and a 3.40 goals against average in 19 games away from the Air Canada Centre this season. Overall, Reimer has five wins and a .921 save percentage in 10 career starts against the Black and Gold.
Making it a rematch of the goaltending duel of the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. With victories in four straight appearances, his latest coming behind a 35-save showing in Detroit on Thursday, Rask is simply rolling. He’s allowed just five goals on 106 shots over that stretch (a .953 save percentage), and has looked like the Rask of old since leaving last Saturday’s game with what the team termed ‘dehydration symptoms’. Although Rask has struggled against the Leafs this year (one win, an .886 save percentage in three games), the 28-year-old comes into tonight’s game with 10 wins and a 1.92 goals against average in 14 career starts against Toronto.
- Reilly Smith has five assists in seven career games against the Maple Leafs.
- Center Ryan Spooner has points in all but five of his last 20 games played.
- Boston winger Brad Marchand has gone 13-straight games without a goal.
- Leaf captain Dion Phaneuf has been held without a point in seven of his last 10 games.
- James van Riemsdyk has six goals and 12 points in 21 career games against the B’s.
Other news and notes
It sounds like Talbot and Paille will remain the Bruins’ healthy scratches, while top-pairing defenseman Dougie Hamilton (undisclosed) remains out of the lineup. On a roster move front, the B’s sent defenseman Joe Morrow back to the American Hockey League after having the puck-mover join the B’s for their one-game road swing to Detroit as backup given d-man Torey Krug’s illness.
This will be Boston's final regular-season home game of 2014-15.
The Maple Leafs come to Boston with defensemen Roman Polak and Stephane Robidas both done for the season, while forward Peter Holland is out, along with deadline pickup Nathan Horton. For Horton, his status is similar to that of Marc Savard, as it’s unlikely that the former Bruin will ever play a game for the Leafs or any team for that matter. That story will never fail to bum me out either, as Horton is one of the nicest dudes in the league.
A Toronto victory would give the Leafs their first season-series victory over the Bruins since 2010-11.
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