The numbers game made its way back to the Boston Bruins’ forward corp last Thursday with the return of David Krejci from his bout with the undisclosed, and it was the veteran Simon Gagne that found himself out of the mix and sitting as the club’s healthy scratch.
And while Gagne is obviously not a player you start over Krejci (unless in we’re in, say, 2006), you had a feeling that this benching was nearly inevitable for the 34-year-old winger given his recent struggles. In the eight games that followed Gagne’s first goal of the year (scored with No. 12 skating on Boston’s top line back on Oct. 16), Gagne’s posted zeros across the board, a minor penalty, a minus-1 rating, and has mustered up just 10 shots on goal. Factor this in with a two-goal game in just 10 minutes of ice-time back on Nov. 1 for Matt Fraser and Gagne’s scratch seemed to make all the sense in the world.
But with Krejci’s undisclosed injury flaring up once again, forcing the top-line playmaker out of the lineup, it’s Gagne that’ll find his way back into the mix in tonight’s contest against the New Jersey Devils.
Skating most notably on the right side of Boston’s fourth line featuring Gregory Campbell at center and Danny Paille on the left side, Gagne came into this year as an undeniable reclamation project for the Bruins. And despite the quickest of flashes of offensive zone brilliance, this is still a guy that did not play last season, and is skating fourth-line minutes with a less-than-stellar offensive centerman dishing him the puck. So, sure, maybe your offensive expectations with Gagne should be tempered a bit (or a lot, even).
“It hasn’t been a bad line when it’s been together and it’s had some consecutive games. I think they’re slowly building more and more chemistry,… B’s coach Claude Julien said of his fourth line. “But, it’s an experienced line which I like in a way when you’ve done your power plays and other teams are coming out with their top lines, it’s some experience you can put out there and give you a good shift against.…
Even so, you probably expected more offensive firepower from that trio, especially out of the 6-foot-1 winger out of Quebec. I mean, with an NHL resume featuring almost 300 goals and 600 points in over 800 games, how could you not? But Gagne’s struggled, has consistently been one of the B’s weaker possession players, and has looked more like the Gagne that struggled to get going in Los Angeles more than the one that ‘ended’ his career on a high-note with the Philadelphia Flyers back in the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
That’s something that could come back to playing time -- Gagne was obviously more effective in Philly when he played on the club’s top six, most notably Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek -- which is something that the B’s haven’t necessarily ruled out upping as a means to get No. 12 going.
“I would say I like his skating,… Julien said of Gagne’s play. “His skating has really picked up a lot and right now I think it’s more of his hands and his playmaking ability that we know he has, he knows, we know it’s coming along but it’s not quite there yet and the only way he’ll get those is with playing time.
“There’s a lot I can do with Gagne,… added Juline. “We talked about that earlier on and as he gets better and finds his game more and more he’ll probably have opportunities to move up too.…
If there's one noticeable criticism of Gagne's game, for me, it's that he's just not as patient with the puck as he could be. He seems to rush nearly every sequence generated with the puck on his blade, and has been relying too much on these low-percentage tosses to the front of the net for a crashing Campbell or Paille. He has the creativity to take advantage of some of the league's slower third pairings, and that's what you certainly want to see moving forward.
The bigger issue, however, is Krejci's absence. Watching Krejci talk after last Thursday's win, it's extremely obvious that this is a player that's still not feeling 100 percent with this ailment, and one that'd probably prefer to play it safe for the betterment of the bigger picture here. Krejci wants to talk about his injury, but knows that he can't. It's still bugging him. In every way possible, no less. This'll be something to watch, too, as we can all pretty much agree that the Bruins are going nowhere unless it's with Krejci leading the charge as their No. 1 center.
Gagne’s return to the lineup gives the B’s yet another offensive punch to their bottom six as they play host the Devils in search of their fifth straight win and eighth win in their last ten contests. And it’s been a collective understanding that everybody has to ‘do their job’ (channeling their inner Bill Belichick, I suppose) back on the point that’s led the Bruins back near the top of the Atlantic Division with Tampa Bay and Montreal.
“We haven’t asked our veterans to do more and we haven’t asked our young defensemen to do more or do less, we just encourage them to play their game. It’s not about the veterans doing it more or better, it’s about everybody doing it well,… Julien said of the club’s recent, strong play from the battered blue line. “We’ve really taken that group as one and dealt with it that way and it think it’s great for everybody. You’re not asking the veterans to carry the load even though they know that they’re relied on a little bit more, but were also not treating the young players as if they’re not good enough to be here.…
That defensive mix could receive a boost, too, as Torey Krug (finger) will be a game-time decision.
New Jersey gives the start to Massachusetts’ own Cory Schneider. A product of Marblehead, and later Boston College, the 28-year-old heir to Marty Brodeur’s crease has been a real hit-or-miss in 2014-15. Starting all 14 of the Devs’ games this year, Schneider has posted a modest 6-5-2 record and .906 save percentage, but has honestly kept an anemic New Jersey attack in it more often than not (though he’s also been given the early hook four times this year). On the road, however, Schneider’s been a wreck, surrendering 25 goals and posting an .890 save percentage in eight road contests this year. Schneider did not start any of New Jersey’s games against the B’s last year, and comes into the year with one win in one career game vs. Boston (which came all the way back in Jan. 2012, the famed Bruins-Canucks rematch at the Garden).
Boston will give the start to Tuukka Rask for the fourth straight game. Riding a three-game winning streak -- with an impressive five goals against and .932 save percentage over that stretch -- the 27-year-old Rask finally looks like he’s back on track. A winner in five of his last six, Rask enters tonight’s game with rather impressive splits against New Jersey despite a so-so- win/loss, with just wins and a .952 save percentage in eight career games against the Devils. (Sometimes the numbers make no sense.)
- B’s agitator Brad Marchand has four goals and seven points in his last four games.
- Milan Lucic has six goals and 14 points in 23 career games against New Jersey.
- Danny Paille is still looking for his first goal of the season.
- Michael Cammalleri has seven goals and 14 points in 16 career games against the Bruins.
- NJ center Travis Zajac has just one point in his last eight games played.
Winger Loui Eriksson missed the (optional) morning skate earlier today, but will be a go tonight according to Julien. Eriksson snapped an eight-game goalless streak in his last game and will once again skate on Boston’s third line with Carl Soderberg at center and Matt Fraser on the left side.
It seems like a lot of ‘pressure’ is on Krug to return given the weekend news that David Warsofsky, a 5-foot-9 Providence callup with a game similar to Krug, will miss the next two-to-four weeks with a groin strain. If Krug is unable to go tonight, expect Matt Bartkowski to slide back into the mix. Bartkowski, benched in the third period in his last game, has been a scratch in four straight contests, and has played in just five games this year, with zero points and a minus-4 rating to his name in 2014-15.
NHL legend and former Bruin Jaromir Jagr is expected to skate in the 1,488th game of his historic career tonight, and it’s true, nobody is sick of seeing the old man go. Not even his former coach.
“He’s the energizer bunny isn’t he? He just changes his batteries every year and he’s good for another year,… Julien said of Jagr, who leads the Devils in assists with seven. “Same old, same old. Still as strong and protects that puck so well and you look at him and he still has the ability to make those nice plays.…