The centerpiece of the return of the deal that sent Tyler Seguin -- the second overall pick in 2010 and arguably the Bruins’ best goal scorer -- winger Loui Eriksson’s first year with the Boston Bruins has had its share of frustrations. Of course, it’s not the 28-year-old’s fault that he’s dealt with two concussions this season -- one from the gigantic John Scott in Oct. and the other from Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik not even two months later -- but they’ve undoubtedly affected the Swede’s ability to contribute to the club on a regular basis. That much is undeniable.
But with top-liner Jarome Iginla ailing from what the Bruins are calling a ‘very minor’ lower-body injury, the Bruins are finally getting a look at what a fully healthy Loui can do.
In Boston’s last game, a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Eriksson took Iginla’s spot on the Bruins’ top line, skating with David Krejci and the 6-foot-4 Milan Lucic, and had his best game as a Bruin. Period. In just three periods, Eriksson posted four assists (the second four-point game of his career) and had a team-high seven shots on net. It was Eriksson’s first four-point night since a two-goal, two-assist night against Phoenix on Nov. 5, 2010, and showed off some of the versatility that the Black-and-Gold have come to expect from No. 21.
Skating in 57 games for the B’s this year, Eriksson has tallied eight goals and added 26 assists, giving him a modest 34 points on the year. All things considered, it could be worse for a winger whose season looked to be in jeopardy following the Orpik incident. And that’s without factoring in the fact that he’s played on three different lines for significant chunks of that 57-game season.
“He’s a smart player — I think we’ve been saying that since the beginning of the year. He’s a smart hockey player that you’re starting to see, I guess, the — how important that part of his game is to our team because he’s been injured twice at the beginning of the year with those concussions, and we haven’t seen Loui at his best until after the Olympics, where he’s gotten much better and has recovered and now you’re seeing the real Loui that everybody’s been talking about,…coach Claude Julien said after Saturday’s victory.
“And he’s such a smart player — he adapts to any line he’s with, and he’s been a great asset to that third line with Carl Soderberg and Kelly,… Julien noted, He was a great asset with Krejci’s line. I thought he did a great job also on Bergy’s line the other night in Toronto. That line kind of got itself going with high. It means a lot as far as what he’s capable of bringing to our team.… The turning point for Eriksson, as alluded to by Julien, seemed to be the winger’s six-game trek to Silver with Team Sweden in Sochi two months ago, where he recorded two goals and three points and logged top six minutes for the Blue-and-Yellow. Since then, Eriksson’s struck with two goals and 14 points in 20 games for the Bruins, with much of that damage done on the Soderberg line. And though the goals haven’t come with the frequency they had in the past -- Eriksson arrived to Boston averaging a goal every 3.34 games -- the confidence is there for the 6-foot-2 lefty.
“I thought the Olympics helped me a lot too, I got some games there and I’m just trying to build off of that,… said Eriksson on Saturday. “I’m just trying to get better every game and it’s definitely nice to play on this team, and I’m really excited to get going here with the playoffs and everything.…
….And thank you for that launching point, Loui.
For Eriksson, a strong playoff run can (and would) put all that talk about a ‘down year’ to bed. But the reality is that it’s been six years since Eriksson skated in a playoff game. He was part of the 2007-08 Stars club that fell to the Detroit Red Wings in the third round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 18 games of that run, the then-23-year-old potted four goals on 31 shots and finished with eight points.
Given his late-season charge and skill-set, there’s room for an even larger contribution this spring.
“He’s past the injuries. He’s really feeling comfortable with playing in our system and the way we think and the way we play the game,… a pleased Julien said of Eriksson’s game. “I think all of that stuff just keeps getting better and better for him. So he’s one of those guys that’s very consistent in his play. So now that he’s better, I think you’re seeing a consistent player night in, night out.…
When push comes to shove, consistency is ultimately what the Bruins need from Eriksson in the playoffs. Like Michael Ryder in 2011, Eriksson is a top six player that’ll (likely) begin the playoffs on the third line, giving Julien’s squad an extra punch on the wing.
And if Eriksson can be anything like that year’s playoff Ryder -- who finished the ‘11 postseason with eight goals (plenty of big ones, too) and 17 points in 25 games -- which he’s shown shades of since returning from Sochi, the B’s know that they’ll be in great shape.
“I think his game’s grown just before the Olympic break and the way he played in the Olympics, and coming back he’s been playing really well for us and he’s being the player that I guess everyone expected him to be,… Lucic said last weekend. “He’s a very smart hockey player, in the right position a lot of the times. He’s got a good stick and that’s what makes him an easy player to play with.…
Gameday vs. Minnesota
In the 79th game of the season, there’s little (see: nothing) to be gained from the point of the view of the Boston Bruins. They’ve already won their division and clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference, solidifying a first round matchup with the East’s second-best wild card team. Right now, that could be anyone from the Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, or even the New Jersey Devils. That part of the equation is almost entirely out of their hands (they close out the year with a Sunday matinee against the Devils).
For the Bruins, it’s all about staying healthy before the start of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That’s something that’s proving to be a bit more difficult than originally imagined, too, as B’s top-liner Jarome Iginla will remain out of the lineup with a lower-body injury (along with stay-at-home defensemen Kevan Miller) for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild. In their place, you’ll see more of Eriksson on the top line, Jordan Caron on the third line with Kelly and Soderberg, and more Andrej Meszaros.
Oddly enough, this seems like a best case scenario for all involved; Caron’s the guy in the lineup if there’s an injury in the postseason, and you want him more equipped to jump into the lineup than Kaspars Daugavins was last year. Meszaros is still battling against Matt Bartkowski for a spot on the Bruins’ playoff roster against. And as I wrote about for about 1,000 words a little bit above this, Eriksson’s confidence is on the rise and will seemingly grow with more ice-time. Against a Wild club that needs just one point to clinch a playoff spot, they’ll all face actual competition.
But that's not the lineup notes you're all going to talk about tonight. According to the pregame skate line rushes, the Bruins will dress Torey Krug as a forward tonight on the club's fourth line, where he'll skate on the left wing. Krejci will be a healthy scratch, moving Carl Soderberg up to the top line to center Lucic and Eriksson. The Bergeron line remains intact, and Kelly centers Caron and Danny Paille.
It was just over three weeks ago when the Black-and-Gold handled the Wild behind a 33-of-34 showing from goaltender Tuukka Rask, and with just a few more pre-playoff tuneups on the schedule, going to the 27-year-old netminder is a no-brainer for Julien. Rask has 10 wins in his last 12 games, and comes into action with a .930 save percentage and seven shutouts.
He’ll be opposed by Ilya Bryzgalov, the unexpected savior of the Minny playoff hopes by way of a 6-0-3 record and .929 save percentage in nine starts with the club. It’s been a long, strange journey for Bryzgalov since leaving the Phoenix Coyotes in 2011, but his brief success in Minnesota really shouldn’t stun the hockey world like it seems to have. Under Dave Tippett, Bryz the ‘Yote was a dynamic goaltender that benefitted from a strong defensive system in front of him.
In Philadelphia and in Edmonton, he was a goaltender that was essentially thrown to the wolves.
Turned into a punchline from his zany comments on HBO 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic (this is where your surely hilarious universe joke from three years ago goes) and tweets that documented his progress on Angry Birds: Star Wars (it’s a good game), there’s something to certainly enjoy when it comes to Bryzgalov’s ‘redemption song’ in Hockey’s Wilderness.
But again, it shouldn’t shock you. Unlike the Flyers and Oilers, the Wild play a game heavily reliant on a strong three-zone effort, and with minute-eating defensemen Ryan Suter out there shutting down top lines every night, Bryzgalov’s faced less of an all out assault on a nightly basis. That’s a good thing, obviously. In 10 games with Minnesota, the most rubber Bryzgalov’s had thrown at him was a 36-shot barrage from the New York Islanders. He stopped all 36 of those shots. In 20 games with Edmonton, however, he faced at least 33 shots a night on eight separate occasions. He faced 37 shots or more in six of those eight games, too. Again: thrown to the wolves.
He carries a 142:15 shutout streak into tonight’s game, too.
(I can almost hear every Philadelphia beat writer slamming their fists from here.)