ACCIARI AGITATES ’EM ALL
Rookie forward makes impact for B’s and few friends around the league
Being on the receiving end of trash talk, dirty looks and afterthe-whistle whacks have been a regular occurrence for Bruins winger Noel Acciari in his seven games since being recalled from Providence March 19. Word is already out via the NHL grapevine: The 25-year-old can really get under an opponent’s skin.
Which is simply wonderful news for Acciari and the B’s.
Every ticked-off opponent means the kid, who consistently finishes his checks, is doing something right.
That was certainly the case at the Garden yesterday, where Acciari did a lot right in helping the B’s register a crucial 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.
“I don’t, like, intend to be an agitator out there,” said Acciari. “But if the way I play is agitating, I’m not going to change my game, I’ll just do whatever I have to do.”
The product of Johnston, R.I., the Kent School (Conn.) and Providence College was credited with two more hits yesterday, giving him 72 in his 26 NHL games this season. His average of 2.8 per game trails only David Backes (3.0) on the B’s. Acciari has dished out 28 hits — very few of them gentle — in his last seven games and 19 in the last three.
More than that, he’s scored his first two NHL goals — No. 2 yesterday on a breakaway to open the scoring late in the first period. Moving from his natural center to the wing, he’s fit in very well with Dominic Moore and Riley Nash on the effective fourth line.
A kid who seemed like a soso prospect last season (19 NHL games, one assist) because of his lack of production has emerged as a real difference-maker who should make even bigger contributions at both ends.
“From what I heard last year, the feedback I got down in Providence, was that they liked everything about Noel’s game,” said B’s interim coach Bruce Cassidy. “They just wanted him to build his puck skills, that side of the game — the offensive side. We’re starting to see some of the results of the hard work he’s put in.
“He’s got a couple of goals for us, he’s (made) some plays around the net; if he can give us periodic timely scoring — if we can get that out of our fourth line — that’s awesome.
“Dom Moore has given it to us this year. Nash has seen more of it lately and become more of a threat. They’re going to play against good lines most nights, because they’ve excelled in that role. If you’re able to finish some plays against the other team’s top lines, it makes you that much more dangerous.”
On his breakaway score, the 5-foot-10, 208-pound Acciaro showed off his tremendous lower body strength as he shrugged off hooks from behind by Florida defenseman Jakub Kindl and the speed to stay ahead of him — finishing with a forehander low-glove past goalie Reto Berra.
“I was going for the blocked shot and saw that he whiffed on the puck,” Acciari said. “I just put the jets on and kind of went for it.”
A delayed penalty was called, and it might well have been a penalty shot — as Acciari was clearly a stride past the pursuing Kindl.
“It was my first breakaway and I was going to try to capitalize on it,” he said. “If I didn’t get a shot off and happened to get a penalty shot, that would have been fine.”
Later in the game, we saw Acciari in a more familiar role — absolutely pasting Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle into the side boards with a perfectly legal check. Of course, in the NHL these days, players seem to feel they have to react to hard-but-clean hits — and Florida’s Alex Petrovic immediately charged after Acciari.
“It was a gritty game all game,” said Acciari. “That’s part of it, sticking up for your teammates. He did what he felt he had to do.”
They squared off and might have had a go — but Yandle interceded. It almost looked like he was playing peacemaker, but Acciari said no, he was looking for retribution, too. Nothing came of it, except a minor for Petrovic, but Acciari added two more guys who don’t like him.
“Playing a heavy game is part of my game and our line,” he said. “We’re going to continue to do that to open up space for each other — and capitalize whenever we can. It’s working out really well right now.”