On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins had enough injured bodies in their press box to form a starting five.
You don’t need to play the game at the NHL level to know that that’s not a good thing.
But with a blizzard on its way to Boston and the B’s set to kick off 2014, relief comes in the form of two returns to the ailing B’s lineup. Forward Carl Soderberg (concussion like symptoms) and defensemen Dougie Hamilton (lower body) have both been cleared to play and will change out of their suits and into uniform for tonight’s showdown with the Nashville Predators.
For Claude Julien’s squad, a healthy Hamilton and Soderberg are a sight for sore eyes.
On the blue-line, There’s little doubt that Hamilton, who will play his first game since Dec. 8, was playing some of the best hockey of his (young) career prior to his injury, even if the points weren’t coming. With just one point in his last 10 contests at the time of his injury, Hamilton will be thrown right back into the Bruins’ fire tonight, as he’ll be tossed right back into the Boston power play equation, and is expected to provide a stabilizing presence on the Bruins’ reeling top four defensive core. Whoa, even I gotta think that that’s crazy to say just a calendar year into his NHL career.
Hamilton will likely be paired with Zdeno Chara on the B’s top pair, but perhaps even more likely on the B’s second defensive pairing with Matt Bartkowski. Hamilton’s return will allow veteran defensemen Johnny Boychuk to focus on his own-zone game above all else, a role that was muddled up a bit during Hamilton’s absence with Boychuk logging some unfamiliar minutes on the blue line of the Bruins’ second power play unit.
The B’s lethal man-advantage (particularly the second unit) will also love the return of Soderberg.
“There’s a guy there who’s maybe, I don’t know how to qualify him, he’s not a rookie, he’s not a young player, to me he’s a veteran – he’s played in the Elite league [Swedish Elite League] for a long time,… said Julien. “When he’s on that line there’s a presence there; there’s size, there’s speed, and he’s not afraid to go in those dirty areas. It makes a difference for that line so hopefully that happens tonight.…
On a unit that’s becoming known for the Soderberg to Reilly Smith connection that’s led to four power play goals (and nine power play points in total) for Smith in 2013, Soderberg’s net front presence on the second unit will certainly come in handy against a Preds team fresh off a six-goal showing in their last game, a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. And the B’s know that, even if they put six by the Nashville crease in the teams’ last meeting back on Dec. 23.
“I think we capitalized on our chances, but we have to be careful here. When you look at the scoring chances there wasn’t that big of a difference; they played well, they had some chances, I thought Tuukka [Rask] played extremely well, but we made some real good plays there,… Julien noted of their last meeting with Nashville. “What I liked about our team in that game was how well we managed the puck in all the areas.
“You looked on their forecheck – they’re very aggressive, their D’s [defensemen] will pinch, we didn’t panic, we made good plays, so we came out neutral zone.We used our speed, we moved the puck, instead of turning pucks over we chipped them and we were on top of those things. I thought it was one of those games where we really managed the puck well and it made a big difference in our game.…
The Masked Men
It’s time for the NHL debut for Niklas Svedberg. Signed by Boston during the 2012 offseason, Svedberg has been a complete winner for the Black-and-Gold’s farm club, the Providence Bruins, since coming over from Sweden. Coming into tonight’s game with 50 wins in 70 career games at the AHL level, and with a 13-5-3 record and .909 save percentage for Providence this season, the 24-year-old Svedberg comes into play with the chance to potential steal a job in Boston.
“I think he’s a good competitor, I think he’s improved over the course of the year with his experience. Earlier on, when I first saw him, when he first came, he had to make some adjustments to his game because of how they played in Europe versus here,… Julien said of Svedberg. “His demeanor is very calm. He’s got to go out there and just play his game. I think he’s going to go in there and play with confidence, and if anything he’s going to want to prove himself.…
There’s no doubt that the B’s will need to get Tuukka Rask some rest, and with the club’s trust in back up Chad Johnson seemingly nonexistent, a strong showing from Svedberg could not only push Johnson, but Rask as well.
The Preds counter with Marek Mazanec. Entering action with seven wins in 19 games played this season, Mazanec rolls into the Hub with two straight victories to his name, but also surrendered four goals on 29 shots in his last appearance against the Bruins, a 54-minute relief effort on Dec. 23.
Stats of Note
- B’s center Patrice Bergeron has a goal and six points in his last six games.
- Torey Krug has just one goal in his last 16 games played.
- Seven of David Krejci’s nine goals this year have come on Garden ice.
- The Predators are 6-3-0 in 2013-14 when Mike Fisher scores a goal.
- Patric Hornqvist has one goal in his last 30 shots on goal.
- Rookie defensemen Seth Jones has five assists in his last four games played.
Injuries and nonsense
B’s center Chris Kelly is continuing to progress in an effort to return from his broken fibula. The obvious next step for Kelly, who hasn’t played since Dec. 7, will be skating, and then it’s all about getting back up to game speed. On a less encouraging note, Julien noted that top six winger Loui Eriksson is ‘still a ways away’ from returning to action. Eriksson suffered a concussion when he was leveled by the Penguins’ Brooks Orpik back on Dec. 7.
The Bruins will continue to be without the services of Shawn Thornton as well, who has elected not to go to an independent arbitrator in an effort to reduce his 15-game suspension. He’ll be eligible to return to the Boston lineup on Jan. 11 when the B’s visit the Sharks in San Jose.
With Soderberg back, the Bruins sent Nick Johnson, an emergency call up, back down to the Providence Bruins. Johnson, who has been called up on an emergency basis 47 times (rough estimate) in 2013-14, heads back to the AHL with zero points in nine games with Boston this season.
This will be Nashville’s first trip to Boston since Feb. 11, 2012. Led by a last-minute Milan Lucic game-tying goal, the Bruins ultimately sank Pekka Rinne in a shootout, 4-3.
Nashville holds a 2-5-1 record against the Black-and-Gold at TD Garden in their franchise history, and have not beaten the Bruins in Boston since Nov. 28, 2003.