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There’s a solid -- strike that, great -- chance that the Boston Bruins are not as strong as the Presidents’ Trophy winning squad they were a season ago. On top of their offseason loss of Jarome Iginla, so-quiet-you-could-hear-crickets offseason, cap-crunch that forced Johnny Boychuk out of town, the Bruins will begin their 2014-15 with top-line center David Krejci on the shelf.
Leaving Saturday’s preseason game with an undisclosed injury, the injury that head coach Claude Julien initially dubbed ‘very, very minor’ has actually landed No. 46 on the injured reserve.
“He can’t play until after Saturday’s game. That’s his situation,… Julien said of Krejci’s status entering the season. “He’s doing much better today. Let’s just hope that things continue to improve and he’s back in our lineup after Saturday. It all depends how he does from here on in.…
Joining Krejci on the shelf is Gregory Campbell, who did not play in any preseason tilts and remains out of action with what the Bruins are calling a core injury.
That’s two veteran centermen out of action, and two chances to make a legitimate NHL impact for two Providence Bruin mainstays in Craig Cunningham and Ryan Spooner.
Skating as the first-line center, much of the focus tonight will be on Spooner, a 5-foot-10 center who will skate in the middle of Milan Lucic and Matt Fraser. Spooner’s skill-set has never been an issue, but his commitment to both ends of the rink was the focus of his preseason. And that’s still something the Bruins want to see before giving the 22-year-old a full-time role with the club.
“He hasn’t made the team. He’s here and he has to hang onto his spot and we’re giving him that opportunity,… Julien said of Spooner, a player with 11 assists in 27 NHL games. “We’ve said that before, anybody that feels comfortable here certainly doesn’t have the right approach to our team, it’s about earning it. The thing I liked about what he did was that he had an average camp, was sent down, came back and he showed us that he wanted a second chance and proved that he deserved a second chance so he’s got it now.…
The 5-foot-9 Cunningham isn’t the only success story on the Bruins’ fourth line, as right winger Bobby Robins will make his NHL debut tonight at the age of 32. A pro since the start of the 2005-06 season, with stints in the AHL, Ireland, Austria, and ECHL, Robins comes to the Big B’s after a three-year stint with the P-Bruins, where he tallied 11 goals and 37 points along with 687 penalty minutes in 175 games.
Robins is that underdog story that Boston will undoubtedly fall in love with.
“He should be proud to have earned his spot, number one on this team so far and it’s up to him to go out there and play the way he did in training camp,… said Julien of Robins cracking the B’s opening night roster. “As I said he’s a guy that skates well enough to for check well, finish his checks, give our team energy. We know his toughness, his willingness and his hands aren’t that bad either. There’s a lot of guys in this league that can fight but when it comes to playing the game they’re not as skilled as he is.…
These new faces, along with several veteran faces on the B’s bench, will kick their season off tonight against the rival Philadelphia Flyers, a team they took all three games from last season.
The rivalry will certainly have a different look to it with Flyer veterans Scott Hartnell (traded to Columbus) and Kimmo Timonen (blood clots) out of play for the club. But their top-end talents -- led by Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek -- are still there, and more than capable.
For the Flyers, this season is going to be all about getting off to a better start. Period. Last year, a 3-8-0 start to the season really put the Flyers behind the pack, and forced them to play their absolute ass off in order to make it to the postseason, where they ultimately fell to the East-winning New York Rangers in round one.
Expect Craig Berube’s squad to try and make a statement against one of the East’s best tonight.
In net, the Flyers will give the nod to Steve Mason.
Matching his 2008-09 total with 33 wins and posting a career-best .917 save percentage in his first full season with Philadelphia last year, now it’s on the 26-year-old to prove that he’s no longer the inconsistent mess of a netminder that the Blue Jackets gave up on in 2013. And though he allowed a dreadful seven goals on just 49 shots in two games against the B’s last season, the Oakville, Ont. native enters play with three wins and an impressive .931 save percentage in six career games against the Bruins.
Boston will counter with the 2014 Vezina winner, Tuukka Rask.
Finishing last season with 36 wins, a .930 save percentage, and a league-leading seven shutouts, the 27-year-old phenom enters the year as Boston’s biggest weapon, and may hold the key to the Cup in 2015 given the losses to both the offense and defense. Rask won all three games against Philadelphia last season, posting a .942 against the Bullies, and enters play with six wins in nine career matchups against ‘em.
- Patrice Bergeron has two goals and three points in the last five season openers.
- B’s winger Milan Lucic has seven goals and 14 points in 20 career games vs. Philly.
- Loui Eriksson had 19 points in 20 games against Metropolitan Division opponents last year.
- Philly’s Matt Read has three goals in 17 career shots against Boston goaltenders.
- Vinny Lecavalier has 22 goals and 51 points in 53 career games against Boston.
Here are your Bruins lines for tonight…
Milan Lucic - Ryan Spooner - Matt Fraser Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith Chris Kelly - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson Danny Paille - Craig Cunningham - Bobby Robins
Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton Dennis Seidenberg - Adam McQuaid Torey Krug - Kevan Miller
Matt Bartkowski will begin the year as the odd man out on the point.
For Philly, Wayne Simmonds (lower-body) will be active.
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