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Bruce Cassidy juggles forward lines at Monday’s practice

February 15, 2021, 2:38 PM ET [3 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After the Bruins five game win streak and 10 game point streak ended on Saturday with a 4-2 loss to the Islanders—the lone team to beat the Bruins in regulation this season—head coach Bruce Cassidy juggled things up a bit Monday morning.

Looking to get more consistency from his forwards five-on-five, Cassidy broke up the Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak line, sliding Pastrnak to the right of Nick Ritchie and David Krejci. Jake DeBrusk was to the right of Marchand and Bergeron, a spot he was getting comfortable in prior to his injury against the Flyers.

“It’s a little bit of a few guys offensively that haven’t had much luck, Krejci and Jake. I thought DeBrusk played okay up there (with Marchand and Bergeron). He got inured I think against Philly, I thought he was doing a good job. They tend to push whoever is with them, so it could be a good arrangement,” said Cassidy. “[Krejci] has played in the past with Pasta, it’s just a different look. We’ve talked about doing in the past, I don’t know, see how it goes, but hopefully it jumpstarts both lines a little bit.”

In the 37:40 of five-on-five time Marchand, Bergeron and DeBrusk have spent together, the Bruins have had the edge in shot attempts 52-21, shots on goal 26-8, and scoring chances for 18-10. They’ve scored twice while allowing two goals.

“Bergeron and Marchand have been fine, they’re going to generate every night. [Pastrnak] has had a great start, but now pucks aren’t finding him quite as easily then maybe they did when he first came back, some of that is coverage,” said Cassidy. “Maybe this gets both lines scoring consistently, we will see where it goes from there.”

It’s a change that could do both top lines some good after a stagnant effort in Long Island on Saturday, especially for Pastrnak who has just one shot on goal in his last two games.

In breaking up the Bergeron line, Cassidy hopes it causes a trickle down effect that triggers more consistent five-on-five scoring from his offensive groupings. Charlie Coyle centered Anders Bjork and Craig Smith on the third line at practice Monday.

“I think Bergy said it best, our best hockey is in front of us. I think we’re staying within each game and we’re trying to have that next shift mentality,” said Smith. “I think that cleans the slate and helps you detach a bit and get to that next play and you can see that of late in games.”

Coyle has just four points in 14 games this season and has not had a game with more than two shots on goal since Jan. 30, a span of six games. While Craig Smith continues to be a bright spot for the Bruins, he still hasn’t brought much five-on-scoring to the table with two of his three goals coming five-on-five.

Smith however does lead the team with 32 five-on-five shots on goal and 55 shot attempts.

How long the breakup of the Bergeron line last remains to be seen. Much of that depends on how Cassidy’s new lines perform in their roles when the Bruins host the New Jersey Devils Thursday night.

A return of injured forward Ondrej Kase could also cause Cassidy to once again juggle his top-nine around a bit, but it doesn’t sound like that return is happening in the coming days.

“He has not joined the team, I don’t anticipate him joining us tomorrow. He’s been skating lightly on his own,” said Cassidy. “This morning he was out with Kim [Brandvold}, our skills coach. Until he’s with the team, it’s hard to project when he will be back.”
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