B’s banged up in Philly
Grzelcyk latest blue-liner to get injured
The Philadelphia Flyers kept their playoff aspirations within the realm of possibility with a stubborn 3-2 victory over the Bruins during a Saturday matinee at the Wells Fargo Center.
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The B’s fell to 21-11-6 and 6-1-1 against the Flyers but still control the fourth playoff spot in East Division. The Bruins begin a stretch of five home games in eight days starting with Washington tonight.
“They had a lot to play for and everybody does this time of year and they are still in the mix,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, whose club has a four-point lead and two games in hand.
Cassidy had to reconfigure his already depleted blue line units when Matt Grzelcyk left the game after the first period with an upper body injury. Grzelcyk missed 13 games early in the season and is doubtful for tonight.
The Bruins had four defensemen log over 20 minutes led by Steven Kampfer with 22:16. Rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves in his first loss in three starts.
“We lost another defenseman early and it’s happened a lot to us this year so you are leaning on other guys,” said Cassidy. “We rely on Griz in power play situations and you saw the effect on that.”
The Flyers scored the game-winner on a tic-tac-toe play at 6:59 of the third. James van Riemsdyk made a pass from the end boards to Joel Farabee in the slot. Farabee relayed it to Sean Couturier who caught Swayman out of position for his 12th goal of the season.
“We had a few breakdowns they converted on and they made a good play on the third goal,” said Cassidy.
The B’s first line collaborated on a play that originated behind the Flyers’ cage to take a 1-0 lead at 5:38 of the first. Brad Marchand forced a turnover behind the goal line and fed Craig Smith low in the right circle. Smith relayed the puck to Patrice Bergeron who one-timed a slapper by Brian Elliot to the far post.
“That’s his zone right there,” said Smith. “Marchie made a great play and I just wanted to get it over there to him and I’ve seen him a couple of times hanging around there.”
The Flyers tied the game at 11:51 on an alert play by right wing Travis Konecny. Swayman made a blocker save on Robert Hagg’s slapper from the right point. Konecny got the rebound on the forehand and flicked home his ninth.
Philly went up 2-1 on the power play at 17:46. Konecny attacked a seam inside the circle and found Shayne Gostisbehere for a redirect from the low slot.
The Bruins tied the game 2-2 at 11:46 of the second period on a second quality helper by Smith. Charlie Coyle got the puck to Smith on a goal line. Smith backhanded the puck to Jake DeBrusk who one timed it from the low slot for his first tally since March 18 at Buffalo.
Swayman’s college coach dies
Swayman suffered a personal loss Friday with the sudden passing of Maine hockey coach Dennis “Red” Gendron at the age of 63. Swayman made 20 saves in the Bruins 3-2 loss to the Flyers.
“I want to offer my condolences to Red Gendron and obviously his family,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “It was a tough day for them (Friday) and Red used to stop by periodically and our thoughts are with his family.
“The hockey world is a little less fortunate today with the passing of Red.”
Swayman played three seasons for Gendron in a Black Bears uniform. Swayman was the 2019-20 winner of the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top college goaltender and was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. Swayman was also the recipient of the Walter Brown Award as the top USborn college player in New England.
“We gave Jeremy the option yesterday and said ‘listen, if mentally you need a day because that is more important than a start,’” said Cassidy. “He was ready to go but I’m sure they had a close relationship because they spent three years together.”
Goalie movement
Cassidy said the Bruins will recall rookie goalie Dan Vladar for Sunday night’s match against the Washington Capitals in the opener of a five-game homestand.
Like Swayman, Vladar has appeared comfortable making the transition from the AHL in Providence to the parent club. He is 2-1-1 in four games with 2.25 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.
Cassidy said that Tuukka
Rask is back on the ice and participating in workouts but does not have a set date for his return.
Rask reaggravated an existing upper body injury in the first period of the Bruins 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on March 25. Rask only played in three games in March and that includes the one period he was in net against the Islanders.
The Bruins normal backup, Jaroslav Halak, has missed four games in the team’s COVID protocol.
“Halak is in protocol for COVID and until he is cleared, he is unavailable,” said Cassidy. “Obviously we will need some time to get back up to speed when he is cleared and we don’t know when that is going to be,” said Cassidy.
“As for Tuukka, he skated (Friday) and had a good practice with the main group and progressing well. He will skate (Sunday) and my guess we will target next week’s games, Tuesday, Thursday or the one after that and hopefully a few more days will benefit him.”
Rolling the D
Cassidy has defenseman Kevan Miller on a staggered rotation to avoid using him back-to-back games. Miller got the nod against the Flyers but will like sit against the Capitals. Injured No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy (upper body) is skating with the team but is unlikely to dress against the Capitals. Cassidy targeted McAvoy to return on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.