Acciari plays the hits
Forward thrives in tough role
BRUINS NOTEBOOK
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Los Angeles Kings appeared intent on running the Bruins out of the Staples Center on Thursday. The Kings were credited with 21 first-period hits and, whether or not you believe it was quite that high, their strategy was obvious.
But midway through the frame, there was a puck battle in front of the Bruins net. Andy Andreoff was going for the puck. Noel Acciari, as he often does, chose to play the body. The result was a hit that reverberated several stories up in the press box and, more importantly for the B’s, took a little bit of starch out of the Kings.
For much of the month and change while Acciari was out with a broken finger, that kind of presence was missing in the B’s lineup. But Acciari has brought his wrecking ball ways back. In four games plus the one period he played in the opener before suffering an injury blocking a shot, he has 22 hits, including 10 in Wednesday’s loss in Anaheim.
“I think there’ s an enjoyment in it for him. If you watch him, he does it with a smile on (his) face,” said coach Bruce Cassidy with a grin and a rather disbelieving shake of the head. “It’s not always a fun thing to do. You’d rather have the puck and make plays and probably go stick-check guys and steal it from them. But he enjoys it.”
Though he doesn’t have the antagonistic personality of, say, Brad Marchand, Acciari delivers checks that opposing players do not enjoy. Andreoff got up from his hit both sore and angry. It looked like he wanted to fight Acciari, but the Bruin wasn’t ready to test out his surgically repaired hand. While he’s not a fighter, he will go when tested.
“I’m not afraid to drop them, it’s just that coming back from an injury with the hand, I don’t want to set myself back any more than I did,” said the 5-foot-10, 208-pound Acciari, who carries much of his weight in his tree trunk legs. “Once I feel that my hands ready, I have no problem to step up. I’m not afraid to. It’s just that now I didn’t think it was the right time. One, it was a close game, two, I don’t think my hand’s ready for it right now.”
Does he think he is gaining a reputation across the league as a big hitter?
“I might be. I’m not sure. But it’s not going to change my game,” said Acciari. “I’m going to continue every night throwing the big hits if it’s there. I’m not going to go out of my way looking for it, but if it’s there, I’m going to try to hit.”
Strong start
Jake DeBrusk had himself a first period last night. First he split two Sharks to take the puck to the net. He crashed into goalie Aaron Dell and Peter Cehlarik cleaned up for his first career goal. San Jose challenged for goalie interference but it was ruled Joakim Ryan’s action in front caused the collision and the goal stood. Then, at the end of a penalty kill, he chased down a Charlie McAvoy clear out and beat Dell to give the B’s a 2-1 lead.
The B’s actually came out on top on another first-period challenge. Joonas Donskoi
scored just 1:02 into the game but Cassidy challenged and it was ruled Donskoi batted the puck in with his hand, taking the goal off the board. …
Needham’s Daniel O’Regan was called up by the Sharks and made his season debut against this hometown team. The forward assisted on Timo Meier’s first goal of the game.
Krug stays out
Torey Krug (upper body) missed his second straight game, but Cassidy said he remains day-to-day. …
Cassidy didn’t know if Marchand (upper body) or Anders Bjork would be ready for Wednesday’s game in New Jersey, but he is under the impression that Marchand is closer to returning than Bjork. …
David Krejci reported no ill effects from Thursday’s game in LA, his first in a month.
“It felt good. The day off (Friday) helped and it felt good this morning,” said Krejci after the morning skate at SAP Center. “I felt like my legs were there and I felt the power play was good, so just keep doing that and bring the rest of your game up. I felt I could be better handling the puck on my stick, so that’s the area I want to improve.”