Grzelcyk rides pine after poor showing
COLUMBUS — Monday’s disappointing loss to the Flyers in overtime had more consequences than just the shootout defeat.
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was a scratch via coach’s decision for the first time all season on Tuesday night in Columbus after head coach Bruce Cassidy was unsatisfied with his performance in Philadelphia.
“No, he didn’t play well enough, so the other guy’s gonna go in,” Cassidy told reporters on Tuesday. “When he gets back in there, hopefully he’s better.”
Steven Kampfer was back in the lineup for his 10th game of the season. Grzelcyk took a slash and injured his leg against the Islanders on Saturday night and left for a good part of the game, but Cassidy said the move on Tuesday was purely performance based.
Grzelcyk has two goals and 12 assists in 46 games this season and hasn’t been a healthy scratch since early last season. He’s since established himself as one of the Bruins’ most valuable blue liners in the third full season in the league.
Celebration time
The Bruins will have three ceremonies for players who reached milestones this season over the next few weeks.
The first one comes on Thursday, Jan. 16 when goaltender Tuukka Rask will be honored for his 500th game, which he reached on Oct. 23 of this season.
Fellow netminder Jaroslav Halak reached the same mark on Dec. 3, and he’ll be honored before the game against the Golden Knights on Jan. 22, the Bruins’ last game before the All-Star break.
Zdeno Chara reached 1,000 games as a member of the Bruins on Monday in Philadelphia, and hit 1,500 for his career on Nov. 5 in Montreal, and he’ll have a pregame ceremony celebrating both of those achievements on Feb. 8 before the Bruins face the Coyotes.
Back-to-back action
The Bruins entered Tuesday night 2-2-1 this season in back-to-backs, but with a three-games-in-four-nights stretch on the road — with the first two going into overtime — this stretch has been particularly challenging.
Facing a good Islanders team that was starting to falter and was hungry; and a Flyers team looking to get back on track in the playoff hunt; and then an upstart Blue Jackets team with some hope made life difficult.
Losses like Monday’s, though, are those after which a team hopes there’s a little more of a spark to get back on the ice as quickly as possible.
“There’s some truth to that,” said Torey Krug. “I find when we play a team on a back-to-back, their first period is usually pretty good. It’s what happens after that, whether they’re tired or not. ... For us, our mentality is to come in with the right approach and take care of the puck. That’s a big part of it. Got to manage the game and be smart about that.”