Pre-Game Talk: carbos

emptyNedder

Not seeking rents
Sponsor
Jan 17, 2018
3,805
8,568
If I had to pick one player who should concern the Canes it would be Krejci. He has averaged .8 ppg in more than 130 playoff games. If he records 5-6 points in the series, that would likely be as many points as the Canes 2nd and 3rd centers.

Either Staal or Trocheck need to raise their production. Otherwise, the Canes will be counting on SAT to dominate the Bruins like they dominated the Rangers.
 

geehaad

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Aug 24, 2006
7,508
18,851
If I had to pick one player who should concern the Canes it would be Krejci. He has averaged .8 ppg in more than 130 playoff games. If he records 5-6 points in the series, that would likely be as many points as the Canes 2nd and 3rd centers.
For some reason, Krejci has been a concern for BOS as well. I've heard talk of maybe needing to switch him out for Coyle. Point being: maybe, maybe not
 
  • Like
Reactions: WreckingCrew

emptyNedder

Not seeking rents
Sponsor
Jan 17, 2018
3,805
8,568
For some reason, Krejci has been a concern for BOS as well. I've heard talk of maybe needing to switch him out for Coyle. Point being: maybe, maybe not
Coyle was really good in last year's playoffs, so there is that. But he still had the same production as Krejci.

Maybe I should have said the Canes need to be concerned with a team that gets production from both 2rd and 3rd centers while Trocheck and Staal are often absent from the scoresheet. (Just more reinforcement for the point in the prospect thread about needing a productive 2C).
 

bleedgreen

Registered User
Dec 8, 2003
23,738
38,191
colorado
Visit site
Coyle was really good in last year's playoffs, so there is that. But he still had the same production as Krejci.

Maybe I should have said the Canes need to be concerned with a team that gets production from both 2rd and 3rd centers while Trocheck and Staal are often absent from the scoresheet. (Just more reinforcement for the point in the prospect thread about needing a productive 2C).
Well thanks to last night...Seth Jarvis everybody!
 

Trap Jesus

Registered User
Feb 13, 2012
28,686
13,456
If I had to pick one player who should concern the Canes it would be Krejci. He has averaged .8 ppg in more than 130 playoff games. If he records 5-6 points in the series, that would likely be as many points as the Canes 2nd and 3rd centers.

Either Staal or Trocheck need to raise their production. Otherwise, the Canes will be counting on SAT to dominate the Bruins like they dominated the Rangers.
Coyle has been better than Krejci this year, even if the production doesn't completely reflect that. His puck protection skill is something else, and he's decent defensively too. His main problem is finish, although that wasn't a problem for him last playoffs. He's still a really good playmaker though. Towards the end of the season he was getting a full 3 minutes of TOI more than any other forward. He's just one of those guys that Cassidy just gained more trust in as the season went on, he became a key part of ES/PP/PK.

Krejci has looked off so far, but the skill and patience he's known for are still there. I have no concerns about the Bruins center spine, but there are huge questions about the Bruins middle 6 regardless though. He just has not been able to develop chemistry with the underwhelming set of wingers that have been put alongside him, which has always been the concern in recent years.

DeBrusk has had a very inconsistent year. He was mainly Krejci's winger but looked his best when paired with Coyle (common theme for a lot of wingers). They have him back with Krejci now though. Closing speed is incredible, he puts a ton of effort in to retrieving loose pucks and if there's ever a race for a puck, I always expect him to win it. He has good hands as well but lacks hockey sense.

Bjork is a solid 3rd line winger, he has a bulldog mentality on the puck and works very well with Coyle (who they have him paired with now). He also has LW/RW versatility. Problem is that he has no finish whatsoever. Considering that's the main knock on Coyle, you can see why that's an issue for that line.

Ritchie and Kase I don't even know. In my brief viewing of Ritchie he looks OK, but I can't really say what he brings to the table. His size is a plus, he's strong in puck battles, but nothing else really jumps out about him. Anaheim fans said he was a pretty good passer but I haven't seen that yet.

Kase is fairly skilled, but he's looked pretty bad in my viewing of him. He puts himself in awful positions, it's really obvious why he gets injured so much. He moves really well on the ice and has slick hands but I really question his hockey sense.

I really hope they go back to Studnicka. He has next to no NHL experience but he's the Bruins best prospect and looked really solid when he played. He's just a very smart, positional player and showed he could think the game with Krejci when he played with him. I think his game is more mature than the other middle 6 wingers but he doesn't have the coach's trust with his age. He can play C or RW.

Their other option for middle 6 is Kuhlman. He moves really well on the ice (he honestly looks like a right-handed Marchand a lot of the time) but his hands are sub-par and he doesn't bring anything else to the table really. He's one of those guys that you seeing zooming around and think that he looks pretty good, but then you look a bit closer and see that he's not actually bringing anything to the table.

As of now, they're trying:

DeBrusk-Krejci-Kase
Ritchie-Coyle-Bjork

Some possible changes are switching Ritchie and DeBrusk or Ritchie and Kase (Bjork can play either side, and DeBrusk can play RW as well, although it's much more rare than Bjork playing his off-wing). Cassidy also loves to drop Pastrnak down to try to get things going, whether that's by switching out with another winger or double-shifting him.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->