Third line to do heavy lifting
Bruce Cassidy has typically employed his fourth line to take a lot of shifts against top lines to throw some energy at the opposition’s high-end skill, to frustrate them and, ideally, force them to play in their own end.
But the coach plans on taking a different approach this year, at least to start. With the Bruins’ fourth line — currently consisting of left wing Trent Frederic, center Tomas Nosek and right wing Karson Kuhlman — still finding its way, Cassidy plans on employing the more veteran third line of Jake DeBrusk, Erik Haula and Nick Foligno to carry some of that heavy lifting.
“The role we’re asking (Foligno) him right now is that that line has be a good 200-foot line, because I’m not sure that fourth line is exactly where we wanted it,” said Cassidy. “For Nosek, it’s a new system and as a centerman, it’s going to take a little bit for him to get his pass-offs, closing quick. Getting Freddy comfortable playing against good players. We already lost (Curtis) Lazar on the other side. Kuhlman certainly has done that. But that (third line) might be asked a little more for some of those checking assignments. And if they can contribute offensively like they have, then that’s an ideal third line. That’s the ask right now.”
Haula, one of the three offseason signees in the bottom six along with Foligno and Nosek, has nonetheless looked very comfortable in the preseason and should be an asset in how Cassidy wants to employ the line.
“He’s got good pace, he’s killed penalties the majority of his career. If you can get around the ice, it usually means you can check. He can still go on offense and recover. He’s good on the dot on his strong side, so we’re comfortable using him there,” said Cassidy. “And I think for any line you’re asking to play against good lines or check a little, is can they counter-punch? And that’s where they have an advantage from the lines we’ve put out in the past. They can score. All three of them have the ability to finish. If they can do that and take advantage of the other team’s aggressiveness or lack of wanting to play defense or mismanaging the puck or whatever, it’s nice to have a line that can go down.”
One interesting element of a third line is how suited DeBrusk will be for the role. He certainly knows the ask, bringing it up in his media availability earlier in the week and seemingly embracing it, though it’s not something he’s done in the past. We shall see.
But in a general sense, Cassidy believes DeBrusk is in the right frame of mind to regain his game after a very difficult 2020-21 season.
“He seems a little more engaged with the group, both on and off the ice and in the gym, whatever,” said Cassidy. “I don’t know exactly how a guy feels when leaving the rink. We just try to discuss it with them and come to conclusion to get him in a good place, but at the end of the day, only he can answer that. But he sure seems that way to me. Hopefully it will translate on the ice. Typically, it will.”
Cassidy will let lines play out
Cassidy has never been afraid to mix up his lines and it’s a good bet that at some point, he’ll rev up the blender. But he said he doesn’t expect to do much of it early in the season.
“I’d like to see how it goes a little bit first. In the past I have certainly moved them around. I think this year, I’d think that would be less because I think the pieces fit better than in the past. We were still sorting out who went with who. There was inconsistency with some of the younger guys,” said Cassidy.
“I think if you look at our top nine, guys have played in the league. They should know the expectation of what it’s like to be an NHL player with the consistency factor, so we shouldn’t have to move people around. Sometimes you’re doing because you’re not getting the result you want and you want to send a message. So I’m hoping there will be less of that and our guys know exactly what the ask is. So I would expect much less of that.”
Keep your head up!
The Bruins were one of just four teams who had not played a real game until Saturday. What’s worse, they hadn’t played a game of any kind in 10 days. Going into Saturday’s opener against the Stars, Cassidy was concerned about puck management, as well as other aspects.
“Having your hockey awareness in terms of getting into traffic and physicality. I’ve no doubt our legs will be there. I think we’re skating well. Guys are excited. But, hey, get your head up,” said Cassidy. “This team’s already played a game. They’ve been banging already for real and we’ve only been hitting each other, so don’t put yourself in a vulnerable spot.”