( Above Photo Credit: Winslow Townson/Associated Press )
By: KG Follow me on Twitter: @kgbngblog and on FanCred at K G
The Bruins have had some injury struggles early in the season, to say the least. Currently, the B’s have 6 people on the Injured Reserve for an undisclosed time for the majority of the players like Adam McQuaid and David Backes. These players include three centers, one RW, one D, one LW,. This is a large portion of the regular roster, which means that the Bruins are lacking some serious skill and experience in their lineup.
Some players that are expected to be out for awhile are David Backes, who had surgery to remove a portion of his colon due to health complications, and Adam McQuaid, who will be out for an extended period of time with a fractured fibula he received after blocking multiple shots in the same area. But players like Marchand, Krejci, and Acciari are expected to be back sooner than later.
#NHLBruins head coach Bruce Cassidy gives Marchand/Acciari updates in wide-ranging chat with media on team off day: https://t.co/PDKKPUyjBF
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 9, 2017
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These changes in the lineup are very apparent. In the New York game, we could visibly see the lack of depth on the power play when they played the combo of Bjork, Beleskey, Vatrano, Czarnik, and McAvoy as their second option. Playing McAvoy and Bjork isn’t an issue, but having the more grinder-like players like Beleskey and Vatrano seems like it may not be the best idea. The Bruins are currently running a power play percentage of 23.5%, good for 6th best in the NHL.
What Cassidy is doing to counter the lack of depth is to make the lineup less top heavy by moving Jake DeBrusk to the fourth line to even it out. Cassidy also moved up the line of Kuraley-Schaller-Heinen to the second line from the usual spot of the third/fourth line. This ensures that there is a better chance of scoring/good overall play whenever any line is out.
“Tomorrow’s going to be no different – it’s a loud building, it’s Toronto, and everything that goes with that…”
Cassidy speaks to media: pic.twitter.com/GPvKu5qq42— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 9, 2017
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The Bruins still have a lot of work to do if they want to be in playoff contention by the Christmas break. In the 2016 season, 14 of the 16 teams to make the playoffs were in a playoff position as of the Christmas break. The only changes were Toronto and Calgary sneaking into their separate wildcard spots. The Bruins currently sit 3 points away from third in the Atlantic with usually two or three games in hand from the rest of the teams in the division.
They still have 68 games to play, but if they keep playing at this level, the season will only be the regular 82, no extra.
Bruce Cassidy tells reporters that Noel Acciari will be a game-time decision and that Anton Khudobin will likely be in net vs. @MapleLeafs Friday, with Tuukka Rask likely getting the start Saturday in Boston
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 9, 2017
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Sources:
Shrpsports.com, sports.vice.com, TSN.ca
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