The Athletic - Boston FLUTO: How Sean Kuraly’s injury upsets Bruce Cassidy’s plan vs. Toronto

Fenway

HF Bookie and Bruins Historian
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Sep 26, 2007
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Cassidy has 7 games to figure it out.

A tough break: How Sean Kuraly’s injury upsets Bruce...

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PB37

Mr Selke
Oct 1, 2002
25,297
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That Kuraly-- Acciari -- Wagner line became super important to the success of the Bruins when they showed they could handle tough matchups and hold their own, even grinding away in the offensive end to wear down opponents. I'm glad people have finally realized that those guys contributions go far beyond simple stats. The Kuraly injury is a big blow that they will have to overcome.
 
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Caper Bruins fan

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Dec 4, 2011
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Can’t Coyle provide a similar skill set as Kuraly? I think he can , He is big , strong can skate and isn’t going to provide a whole lot of offense . I hope Kuhlman stays in the lineup the rest of the regular season but he probably gets scratched if Johansson is ready tomorrow.
 

Dr Hook

It’s Called Ruins
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Kuraly has been a solid and important role player for the team this year, no doubt. But sorry Fluto, losing a 3/4th line guy does not translate into "Oh no! The Leafs will curb stomp us!" Okay, so he isn't quite going that far, but it would be a much scarier thing if it were Brad or Bergy going down like that. And am I wrong here, but did Fluto just give the Acciari line a nickname that no one has ever heard and act like it was a common thing? "The American Beauties"?
 
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World of Wardlow

Unscripted Violence
Jul 13, 2006
8,442
280
Montreal
What has been the third and 4th line for Boston in the last 2-3 games?

If everyone's healthy for round 1 I can see:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Debrusk-Krejci-Johansson
Heinen-Coyle-Backes*
Nordstrom-Acciari-Wagner*

*Kuhlman
 

BruinsBtn

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Dec 24, 2006
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This is a smart take. You can see with the matchups in the past few weeks that Cassidy has been grooming Kuraly's line as the matchup line.
 

Pay Carl

punished “venom” krejci
Jun 23, 2011
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If they're worried about Backes's speed against the Leafs, maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't play him against them...

Leafs depth is baby soft. If they want to run Ennis and Petan on their 4th line against Backes and Acciari I hope they do

For as much flack as Backes gets the guy actually hits people hard out there
 
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Kazcram

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May 13, 2012
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never thought id say this but kuraly being hurt is a huge loss in the first round. Like him or not but u knew what u were getting from him every night and it was 110 % hustle and energy and he is big and very fast
 

BigGoalBrad

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Jun 3, 2012
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I think Wagner bumped up is a good thing. When Paille was in his prime he elevated a couple plugs to form a fabulous 4th line but it meant we never saw him in a larger role despite being so good. We also refused to adapt even when one guy broke a froggen leg and was never the same and the other had slowed down and was only in the NHL for fighting and we insisted on keeping that line together in the playoffs because it was still effective because Paille was excellent at the time.

Wagner right now is pretty damn close to 2013 Paille. Not having to waste him on the 4th is a good thing.

Acciari and Backes as the fourth is ok to me. They won’t play much. I’d kind of like to see us open it up for who plays with them maybe give a kid with some offense like Fitz a look. Nordstrom should be a reserve.
 

BigGoalBrad

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Jun 3, 2012
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never thought id say this but kuraly being hurt is a huge loss in the first round. Like him or not but u knew what u were getting from him every night and it was 110 % hustle and energy and he is big and very fast

Depends which guy you get. He’s invisible if he’s injured or not on his game. Didn’t have a good playoffs last year.

Shame because his best 30 games or so this year were lights out and his stats are great for the role.
 

GoBs

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Nov 21, 2009
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You can see where he is coming from because all year the so called fourth line has played against the other teams top line. This frees up Bergeron and Krejci to play against the remaining lines. But Nordstrom can fill that role on the fourth line
 

Estlin

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Sep 25, 2013
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Backes is going to be a huge part in beating Leafs cause he will not pass up body checks and will lay the body on Leafs defence.The bashing he takes is crazy cause he has been playing solid hockey a while now.Experience matters in playoffs to

Number of hits is the most overrated stat in hockey. What's more, Backes is so slow that he'll have a hard time keeping up with the play and the players (especially the mobile, quick Leafs players) so that he can make a hit.
 

Sheppy

Registered User
Nov 23, 2011
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The Arctic
I’m not going to lie. Losing Kuraly concerns me a bit.

Not saying he’s an a difference maker offensively, but he’s a guy you want in the post season, that’s for sure.
 

Oates2Neely

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Jan 19, 2010
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Massachusetts
Kuraly currently has that 2011 Chris Kelly vibe about him. He will be missed 1st round no doubt but the team can plug the hole internally
 

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