Penguins to provide good measuring stick
BRUINS NOTEBOOK
Coach Bruce Cassidy is looking for something to measure his team against as the Bruins enter the stretch run to the playoffs.
The reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will provide that something when the teams clash tonight at the Garden.
The Bruins (38-15-8) are coming off a 4-3 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. The Penguins (36-244) are coming off a 3-2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in a key Metropolitan Division match.
“I think the best thing for us about the game it to measure where we are at,” said Cassidy after yesterday morning’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
“This is a two-time Stanley Cup champion that is playing very well, and a lot of people think is trending toward a third. So it will be a good measuring stick for the hockey club to see where we are at.”
The Penguins have three players in the top 12 in scoring in the NHL. Evgeni Malkin (36 goals, 40 assists) is second in the league, followed by former Bruin Phil Kessel (26-4470, tied for ninth) and captain Sidney Crosby (21-4869, tied for 11th).
Cassidy hinted that recently acquired defenseman Nick Holden will make his B’s debut tonight. Holden saw a lot of Pittsburgh during his time with the New York Rangers, so he is up for the challenge.
“Their forwards are just so dynamic and they come at you in waves,” said Holden. “You have to make sure you are playing clean coming out of your zone and not turning pucks over.
“If you give them extra opportunities, they have such elite scoring they will bury you. The biggest thing is your puck management against them.”
Life of Riley
Cassidy continued to toss accolades toward center Riley Nash, who filled in for Patrice Bergeron (fractured foot) on the first line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak against Carolina.
“He did his best Bergy (Tuesday) night,” Cassidy said. “He did a job, he defended well but he wasn’t on the ice with those two when he scored.
“He did a good job with them but he is not going to be Bergy every shift, every night, but he was one of our better players.”
Newcomer Tommy Wingels set up Nash for a backhander that cut Carolina’s led to 3-2 with 2.9 seconds to play in the first period. And in overtime, Nash won a battle in the B’s end and sent Marchand and defenseman Charlie McAvoy on a 2-on-1 breakout that the rookie buried for the game-winner 68 seconds into the extra frame.
Fly like a Bruin
Bruins left winger Jake DeBrusk was skating full bore toward the Carolina cage when he had his skates taken out from under him by Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling. DeBrusk went airborne over the end line and crashed hard into the boards.
DeBrusk must have been watching the Bruins highlights of yesteryear on the Jumbotron before games.
“That was a little bit of my Bobby Orr imitation, because I was kind of flying there,” he said. “It was just me going hard to the net and I caught the goalie’s pad and obviously I didn’t want to go down like that.”