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Boston Bruins ‘22-‘23 Bruins roster and trade proposals discussions. IV

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Mr. Make-Believe

Mr. Make-Believe

The happy genius of my household
Oct 30, 2003
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whydoihavetofillthisin.com
Gee Wally said:
We have no money..

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It’s wild to me that we’re so tight to the cap, but (according to capfriendly) sitting around mid-league in terms of overall cap spend.

People wonder why guys like Smith aren’t picked up on the waiver wire? So few teams can take him and those who can are going to get a massive premium at the deadline for absorbing cap. Far more than what Smith would provide for free.
 
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GordonHowe

GordonHowe

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Gee Wally said:
We have no money..

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As usual, I don't know where to post this. It's a "process piece" about Montgomery's system, how other clubs are countering it, and how the B's are adjusting to *that.*

A few days old but a worthy (and encouraging) read,


BRUINS

As teams have adjusted to Bruins’ hot start, they are now finding different ways to win​

By Frank Dell'Apa Globe Correspondent,Updated December 20, 2022, 3:01 p.m.

19
Brandon Carlo (25) scored his first goal of the season in Monday night's win over the Panthers.
Brandon Carlo (25) scored his first goal of the season in Monday night's win over the Panthers.MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF

Early in his Bruins tenure, coach Jim Montgomery made it known defensemen needed to contribute to the offense. It was assumed that meant not being shy about getting up the ice and firing away from the point, as Brandon Carlo did in scoring his first goal of the season in a 7-3 win over the Panthers Monday night. But why stop there?

“There’s a lot of times I want our defensemen to be below the weak-side dot,” Montgomery said Tuesday. “That’s just the comfort level of them being OK hanging out there.”

And that is about where Connor Clifton found himself — after leading the rush — on the way to opening the scoring against the Panthers. Clifton always seemed good with getting the green light to go forward, but until Montgomery arrived, even he usually kept one foot on the brake.

“One day he came in and was like, ‘Man, I didn’t think I had to worry about you and your lack of aggressiveness,’ ” Clifton said of Montgomery. “He’s like, ‘I want you to go here,’ and I’m like, ‘OK, that sounds great.’ Obviously, there’s a line, right? We want to be part of the offense, but you don’t want to give up some chances you could’ve prevented if you were a little more conservative. You know Monty loves it — we want to be part of that offense and the closer you are to the net, the better your chances. It’s been awesome. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been great for our team.”

Opponents have enough problems contending with the Bruins’ top scorers without having to worry about Carlo, Clifton, and Co. The Panthers probably would have taken it if they were told they were going to shut down Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak for a period, and score three goals themselves in the second. Instead, the Panthers found themselves playing catch-up all night.
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Earlier this week, Santa took a break to make sure Connor Clifton and the Bruins stayed on the nice list.
Earlier this week, Santa took a break to make sure Connor Clifton and the Bruins stayed on the nice list.JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

“I finally found some confidence,” Clifton said after an optional workout at Warrior Ice Arena. “It’s been building since Game 1. I honestly think playing more minutes early in the year helped that. Now, my role’s been more limited and I’ve been trying to play that same way with the less minutes, which is an adjustment. But it’s been going pretty well. I had some talks with Monty. I think I lost my game a couple games ago and I thought last night was really good after two games ago, I kind of struggled. It’s find that balance and maintain that confidence for me.”

So far, it does not seem to matter if the Bruins’ headliners get off to a good start as long as they show up at some point in the game. They will take a 25-4-2 record into Thursday’s game against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

“I think teams have done a really good job of scouting us and they’ve adjusted game plans,” Montgomery said. “And I think a little bit of it is we don’t start out well, then we get to our game for about 10 minutes and we get up, 2-0. Earlier in the year we kept our foot on the gas and we just kept going, and now we take our foot off the gas and kind of manage, it seems like.

“And it’s also that time of year in the season people are starting to think about family time. I don’t care if you’re 25-4 or you’re 4-25, it’s natural, it’s humanistic. It’s a combination of them taking away the middle of the ice and also they’re having 3-4 back all the time. We’re not getting the rush chances we were getting earlier in the year. We did end up moving pucks up walls and staying with it and leading to good entries [against the Panthers]. I think our first three goals were really good entry plays. Those were plays that would have happened at our blue line and now they’re happening at their blue line. And that’s the evolvement of our team. It’s good for us to go through this and find different ways to score.”

Even if the Bruins haven’t been following Montgomery’s plans to a T, they are receiving high grades, as well as threatening team records.

“It’s like being a parent,” Montgomery said. “Your kid has straight A’s and he comes home and you know he should be getting an A in math or English and he comes home with a B. It’s an opportunity to learn, right? But at the end of the semester he still has an A. It’s hard to really bash him about that B.

“It’s a balance you develop. My second year as a head coach we had a really good team and I think I pushed too hard with that group. And I learned that if you’re trying to be perfect you become very negative and then the players kind of start playing safe, and to me safety is a good way to find yourself on the wrong side of a lot of games. You can’t be safe.”


“He makes plays out of nothing, which is his instincts and natural abilities,” Montgomery said. “But he also has the ability to make really good decisions on entries, to make good decisions. I think on the offensive zone is where his game can grow the most, just knowing that this is going to work, and having the confidence to go to those areas as a support player. Calculated, but it’s things I want him to do.”

*Fin*
 
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GordonHowe

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bostonhockeynow.com

Foligno Becomes Another Weapon On Best Third Line In NHL

Regardless of whether they beat the Devils in New Jersey on Friday night, the Boston Bruins will head into the Christmas break as the best team in the NHL. One of, if not the biggest reasons, the Bruins sit atop the NHL standings is their amazing depth at the forward position. The third line of […]
bostonhockeynow.com bostonhockeynow.com
 
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Gordoff

Gordoff

Formerly: Strafer
Jan 18, 2003
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IMO we need a knuckle dragger or two with bad attitudes who can clear the front of the net and a forward.
Regarding the forward, I've seen names thrown around here, but give me
someone who's hungry, has an expiring contract and can throw his weight around.
Is that too much to ask?
 
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GordonHowe

GordonHowe

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Gordoff said:
IMO we need a knuckle dragger or two with bad attitudes who can clear the front of the net and a forward.
Regarding the forward, I've seen names thrown around here, but give me
someone who's hungry, has an expiring contract and can throw his weight around.
Is that too much to ask?
Click to expand...
I think the D corps have aquitted themselves very well under Montgomery's system. I have no complaints, surprisingly.

I think the offense -- because of Bergeron's return, and Krejci's, make no mistake -- has plenty of depth and complimentary scoring from all four lines. Great credit to Sweeney for the Zacha trade, and great credit to Nick Foligno, Nosek, Clifton, DeBrusk, Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle and other players not named Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrňák (who have also been very good to stellar).

It's been a long, long time since Bruins' fans could say that.

They're a strong team with excellent chemistry. Other than yet more depth on D, I don't see a major reason to significantly alter the complexion of this "group."

This is the last go round for Patrice and David. They're going to leave it all, every scintilla, on the ice. They would do so anyway, because that's the kind of players they are. But doubly so now.

Again, the Bruins could pick up D insurance, or even a middling to minor-major offensive acquistion if injury strikes.

Barring that, I see no urgent need to add to this team. They play to an exciting, entertaining system they clearly enjoy, they're aggressive on several fronts, they have very good to superior goaltending, they play for each other, they stick up for one another, and they are very, very well coached.

Unless something drastic happens, no need to fiddle overmuch.

The Bruins are a blast to watch, and as fans, let's enjoy it for what it is, while it is.
 
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