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www.bostonglobe.com
DETROIT — Ten games into the season, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery continued to tinker with his lines Saturday night, shifting promising rookie pivot Matt Poitras off No. 1 center duty to a new trio between wingers Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic.
Pavel Zacha shifted back to his more customary spot, from left wing to center, and rode with veterans James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak as the Bruins carried a 9-0-1 record into the matchup with the Red Wings.
In part, the moves were made, Montgomery explained, because “it allows me to kind of control Poitras’s minutes against other teams that might be looking to go against Pasta.”
The strategy, shaped around the Red Wings having the home team’s privilege to make the last line change, had Montgomery anticipating Detroit coach Derek Lalonde could roll out his best/heaviest checkers in an attempt to neutralize the high-scoring Pastrnak.
In theory, getting Poitras off the big line could loosen the rookie’s load, get him away from heavy minutes delivered by the Red Wings’ best checkers.
Poitras, 19, began the night without a point in his last three games. He’ll have more of those lulls, some no doubt longer, but it had to factor into Montgomery’s thinking. It’s a big lift for a teen just to make it into the NHL, never mind be the center for Pastrnak, one of the game’s elite scorers, who last season became the club’s first 60-goal scorer since Phil Esposito.
The Ducks have a potential franchise player in rookie Leo Carlsson, and they have opted to give the slick 6-foot-3-inch center roughly a game off each week in the early going. Management and coaching staff prefer that he gets rest and some extra time in the weight room in order to remain fresh and build strength for the second half of the season.
The Bruins could consider doing the same with Poitras, though league finances make that strategy difficult for the many teams, Bruins included, who are tight to the salary cap.
The Ducks, per puckpedia.com, have more than $8 million in cap space and have the financial flexibility to move Carlsson in and out of the lineup. The Bruins, meanwhile, operated some $2.5 million over the cap prior to adjustments via the injured reserve list that pulled them back under the $83.5 million max.
“With the salary cap,” noted Montgomery, “it’s hard to have one of your most creative players miss games for load management, you know?”
In that spirit, Montgomery said he prefers to find Poitras other ways to back off, be it with maintenance days (off skates) or, like here, placed into lineup situations that theoretically carry less of a grind factor.
“We’ll try to do it in a more selected [way],” noted Montgomery. “Optional skates where we’ll tell him to take the option — that’s the recovery process. You know, he’s young, and they don’t have the facilities nor people with the expertise to work with him in junior hockey that we do here.”
Poitras played in his 10th NHL game Thursday, a 3-2 shootout win over the Maple Leafs, which triggered the first year of his entry-level contract. Had he gone back to junior (OHL Guelph) prior to the 10-game threshold, the Bruins might have saved some money, and maintained more contract control.
Instead, they kept Poitras with the varsity, first and foremost because he made a positive impact in games, but also because they have more hands-on control over his development.
“We want to help him . . . like everyone hits a wall,” noted Montgomery. “It doesn’t matter where you are. The schedule gets dense and your body has to recover on its own. But he doesn’t know that yet, especially with the travel, so, like a lot of young guys, you know, you feel great every day when you are 19 years old. You don’t have many off days, but it does catch up to you.”
Poitras entered Saturday night with a 3-2–5 production line. He last picked up a point with an assist vs. the Ducks on Oct. 26.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery tinkers with lines in attempt to control rookie Matt Poitras’s minutes - The Boston Globe
Poitras was moved off No. 1 center duty to a new trio between wingers Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic for Saturday night's game in Detroit.
www.bostonglobe.com
DETROIT — Ten games into the season, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery continued to tinker with his lines Saturday night, shifting promising rookie pivot Matt Poitras off No. 1 center duty to a new trio between wingers Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic.
Pavel Zacha shifted back to his more customary spot, from left wing to center, and rode with veterans James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak as the Bruins carried a 9-0-1 record into the matchup with the Red Wings.
In part, the moves were made, Montgomery explained, because “it allows me to kind of control Poitras’s minutes against other teams that might be looking to go against Pasta.”
The strategy, shaped around the Red Wings having the home team’s privilege to make the last line change, had Montgomery anticipating Detroit coach Derek Lalonde could roll out his best/heaviest checkers in an attempt to neutralize the high-scoring Pastrnak.
In theory, getting Poitras off the big line could loosen the rookie’s load, get him away from heavy minutes delivered by the Red Wings’ best checkers.
Poitras, 19, began the night without a point in his last three games. He’ll have more of those lulls, some no doubt longer, but it had to factor into Montgomery’s thinking. It’s a big lift for a teen just to make it into the NHL, never mind be the center for Pastrnak, one of the game’s elite scorers, who last season became the club’s first 60-goal scorer since Phil Esposito.
The Ducks have a potential franchise player in rookie Leo Carlsson, and they have opted to give the slick 6-foot-3-inch center roughly a game off each week in the early going. Management and coaching staff prefer that he gets rest and some extra time in the weight room in order to remain fresh and build strength for the second half of the season.
The Bruins could consider doing the same with Poitras, though league finances make that strategy difficult for the many teams, Bruins included, who are tight to the salary cap.
The Ducks, per puckpedia.com, have more than $8 million in cap space and have the financial flexibility to move Carlsson in and out of the lineup. The Bruins, meanwhile, operated some $2.5 million over the cap prior to adjustments via the injured reserve list that pulled them back under the $83.5 million max.
“With the salary cap,” noted Montgomery, “it’s hard to have one of your most creative players miss games for load management, you know?”
In that spirit, Montgomery said he prefers to find Poitras other ways to back off, be it with maintenance days (off skates) or, like here, placed into lineup situations that theoretically carry less of a grind factor.
“We’ll try to do it in a more selected [way],” noted Montgomery. “Optional skates where we’ll tell him to take the option — that’s the recovery process. You know, he’s young, and they don’t have the facilities nor people with the expertise to work with him in junior hockey that we do here.”
Poitras played in his 10th NHL game Thursday, a 3-2 shootout win over the Maple Leafs, which triggered the first year of his entry-level contract. Had he gone back to junior (OHL Guelph) prior to the 10-game threshold, the Bruins might have saved some money, and maintained more contract control.
Instead, they kept Poitras with the varsity, first and foremost because he made a positive impact in games, but also because they have more hands-on control over his development.
“We want to help him . . . like everyone hits a wall,” noted Montgomery. “It doesn’t matter where you are. The schedule gets dense and your body has to recover on its own. But he doesn’t know that yet, especially with the travel, so, like a lot of young guys, you know, you feel great every day when you are 19 years old. You don’t have many off days, but it does catch up to you.”
Poitras entered Saturday night with a 3-2–5 production line. He last picked up a point with an assist vs. the Ducks on Oct. 26.
A second thread. The kids earned it. I think heinens thread gets more action.
