All we can hope for is the team threads water until they can get everybody back and then a healthy second half and playoffs.
Short term they somehow have to stay even with Buffalo and Poutineville
When you have this many injuries it is fair game to look at the conditioning program the team has in place. I am not saying that is the issue but it is something they have to look at.
With Patrice Bergeron out at least a month, how will the...
Even when Bergeron was healthy, the Bruins were having trouble gaining traction. Their tires are at risk of additional slippage as the center heals his aching bones. Consider what will happen for at least the next dozen games:
1. One of the NHL’s best offensive lines is kaput. Bergeron and linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have combined for 17 five-on-five goals. The 23 other skaters that have played for the Bruins this season have scored a total of 18 five-on-five goals. For a time, the Bruins were worried they were too top-heavy. They’d like to have that problem now.
2. One of the NHL’s best defensive lines is kaput, too. Cassidy regularly used the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak threesome against top trios: Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen (Colorado); Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith (Vegas); and Zach Hyman, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner (Toronto). Cassidy no longer has a go-to matchup line.
3. Marchand and Pastrnak are no longer linemates. Pastrnak rode with David Krejci and Anders Bjork in the Bruins’ 2-1 win over Arizona on Saturday. Marchand skated with Joakim Nordstrom and Jake DeBrusk. Marchand assisted on DeBrusk’s goal against Arizona. Pastrnak is 0-0—0 in the last two games.
4. Krejci will have to generate more offense. The former second-line center (two goals and 14 assists in 20 games) has been good this year despite, for a good stretch, having a bottom-six wing on his left (Nordstrom) and a natural left wing on his right (DeBrusk). It’s now likely that Krejci will draw the top defensive pairing every game.
5. Nordstrom, formerly Krejci’s left wing, is the No. 2 center. Nordstrom was already playing at least one line above his ideal position as the second-line left wing. Now he’s out of position as well as being higher than he should be. Nordstrom has won 37.9 percent of his faceoffs, an expected rate for a natural left wing.
6. The No. 1 power-play unit is diminished. Bergeron is arguably the best middle-of-the-ice bumper in the league. Bergeron excels at ripping one-timers and bumping pucks to other man-up options. Bergeron has 11 power-play points, second to Pastrnak’s 12. The key to Bergeron’s performance on the power play is quickness, whether it’s shooting, passing, or processing his surroundings. The Bruins will have to replace that quickness with David Backes, who operates at dialup pace compared to Bergeron’s broadband. Backes has just one point in 15 games.
7. Noel Acciari will have to kill more penalties. Cassidy tabbed Acciari as Marchand’s shorthanded partner in Bergeron’s place against the Coyotes. Acciari did well. The grinding forward logged a game-high 5:20 on the kill, including the game-ending stop with Matt Grzelcyk in the box. Bergeron has 32 career shorthanded points. Acciari has one.
8. The Bruins will start more shifts chasing the puck. Bergeron won 55.7 percent of his faceoffs. The others centers: Krejci (46.7), Nordstrom (37.9), Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (39.3), and Sean Kuraly (50.0).
Short term they somehow have to stay even with Buffalo and Poutineville
When you have this many injuries it is fair game to look at the conditioning program the team has in place. I am not saying that is the issue but it is something they have to look at.
With Patrice Bergeron out at least a month, how will the...
Even when Bergeron was healthy, the Bruins were having trouble gaining traction. Their tires are at risk of additional slippage as the center heals his aching bones. Consider what will happen for at least the next dozen games:
1. One of the NHL’s best offensive lines is kaput. Bergeron and linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have combined for 17 five-on-five goals. The 23 other skaters that have played for the Bruins this season have scored a total of 18 five-on-five goals. For a time, the Bruins were worried they were too top-heavy. They’d like to have that problem now.
2. One of the NHL’s best defensive lines is kaput, too. Cassidy regularly used the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak threesome against top trios: Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen (Colorado); Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith (Vegas); and Zach Hyman, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner (Toronto). Cassidy no longer has a go-to matchup line.
3. Marchand and Pastrnak are no longer linemates. Pastrnak rode with David Krejci and Anders Bjork in the Bruins’ 2-1 win over Arizona on Saturday. Marchand skated with Joakim Nordstrom and Jake DeBrusk. Marchand assisted on DeBrusk’s goal against Arizona. Pastrnak is 0-0—0 in the last two games.
4. Krejci will have to generate more offense. The former second-line center (two goals and 14 assists in 20 games) has been good this year despite, for a good stretch, having a bottom-six wing on his left (Nordstrom) and a natural left wing on his right (DeBrusk). It’s now likely that Krejci will draw the top defensive pairing every game.
5. Nordstrom, formerly Krejci’s left wing, is the No. 2 center. Nordstrom was already playing at least one line above his ideal position as the second-line left wing. Now he’s out of position as well as being higher than he should be. Nordstrom has won 37.9 percent of his faceoffs, an expected rate for a natural left wing.
6. The No. 1 power-play unit is diminished. Bergeron is arguably the best middle-of-the-ice bumper in the league. Bergeron excels at ripping one-timers and bumping pucks to other man-up options. Bergeron has 11 power-play points, second to Pastrnak’s 12. The key to Bergeron’s performance on the power play is quickness, whether it’s shooting, passing, or processing his surroundings. The Bruins will have to replace that quickness with David Backes, who operates at dialup pace compared to Bergeron’s broadband. Backes has just one point in 15 games.
7. Noel Acciari will have to kill more penalties. Cassidy tabbed Acciari as Marchand’s shorthanded partner in Bergeron’s place against the Coyotes. Acciari did well. The grinding forward logged a game-high 5:20 on the kill, including the game-ending stop with Matt Grzelcyk in the box. Bergeron has 32 career shorthanded points. Acciari has one.
8. The Bruins will start more shifts chasing the puck. Bergeron won 55.7 percent of his faceoffs. The others centers: Krejci (46.7), Nordstrom (37.9), Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (39.3), and Sean Kuraly (50.0).
To be fair, that was six and eight years ago, and whether he can still be that guy is what we're going to find out over the next month.
