B’s to go Leafs peeping
Back-to-backs big challenge
TORONTO — There is a good news/bad news setup as the Bruins prepare for their first encounter this season with the young and improved Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Air Canada Centre. The clubs collide again tomorrow night at the Garden.
The good news for the B’s: Toronto may be without top center Auston Matthews, already a certifiable superstar at age 20, after he missed a game Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day.
The bad news: Even without their star and top scorer, the Maple Leafs beat the Wild, 4-2, and yesterday held the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
There are a lot of pucks to drop between now and April, but the rise of the Maple Leafs could end up meaning the Bruins miss the playoffs. That makes these two games all the more important for a club that delivered a flawed effort in losing 4-2 to the Rangers in New York on Wednesday and ranked 12th in the East as of yesterday.
“It’ll be very interesting,” goalie Tuukka Rask said. “They’ve been a very interesting group since the start of last year, at least. They’ve got a lot of good young talent. They play a great brand of hockey. Their style of hockey and our style, I guess, are pretty similar — trying to create offense with quick transitions.”
The Maple Leafs employed that skill and style to sweep all four games against the Bruins last season. The previous time Toronto swept a season series against the B’s? Try 1924-25.
This season, Matthews is off to a strong start (10 goals, nine assists, plus-14 in 16 games). The Maple Leafs have improved with the addition of veterans Patrick Marleau (six goals, five assists in 17 games), Ron Hainsey (no goals, nine assists) and ex-Bruin Dominic Moore (three goals).
Meeting with reporters in high-class style on a B’s off day — sitting in front of a fireplace in a plush cocktail lounge at the lavish Ritz Carlton Hotel — coach Bruce Cassidy discussed a potpourri of topics:
• Rask and backup Anton Khudobin will split the back-to-back games.
“We’re leaning toward Anton (tonight) to give Tuukka the extra day,” Cassidy said. “But we’ll make that decision (this) morning.”
• Brad Marchand (concussion) was not with the team yesterday, but had not yet been ruled out.
“He’s going through his protocol, so there is (a chance he’ll play),” Cassidy said. “He’s getting better. I’m not going to rule him in or out right now, because he’s going through what he needs to do. There is a chance.”
• Center David Krejci (back) is still skating, with no new setbacks, but won’t play this weekend.
• Winger Noel Acciari (finger) may return.
“He gives us physicality and straight-line (play),” Cassidy said. “He can change the momentum of a game on the forecheck with some big hits. It’d be nice to have that element back. The physical part of it, the straight-line play, will be beneficial for us.”
• Cassidy spoke about the growing appeal of college hockey for NHL hopefuls. The Bruins roster includes 12 players who played in college before turning pro. Cassidy said he seriously considered playing at Colgate before starring with the junior Ottawa 67s.
“(College hockey) is at a higher level now,” said Cassidy. “If you went back 30 years, it just wasn’t considered the same level of hockey. Now it is. I was (tempted). I had offers from a number of schools. I was a good student. I was ready to go at 17. Then I got drafted by my hometown team and I opted to go that route. It worked out: We won a Memorial Cup.
“I have some regrets sometimes that I didn’t get my education. You can still do it in the summers, peck away at it, but it’s not quite the same. I know nowadays, yes, I would probably go that (college) route — especially knowing what I’ve gone through, the injuries that set you back. Everyone at that age thinks they’re going to be an NHL player. Looking back it would be nice to have that education to fall back on.”
Also yesterday, the B’s returned Austin Czarnik to Providence of the AHL. He had one assist in six games.