Bruins face challenges with realignment
B’s, Sabres expected to land in Metropolitan Division
The bad news for the Bruins in the NHL’s expected temporary realignment is that, though they eliminate the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning from their dance card, the B’s will be seeing a heaping helping of their longtime nemeses, the Washington Capitals.
The good news? Well, the dreaded Detroit Red Wings — yes, the last-by-amile Wings who somehow managed to take two-ofthree from the B’s — will no longer haunt their dreams.
But in all seriousness, the B’s will not have many nights off if what is being reported about realignment comes to fruition when the NHL and NHLPA agree on myriad details that need to be ironed out before the teams return to play on their target date of Jan. 13.
That date still seems a little ambitious with the current COVID surge, and it would not be a shock if it is moved back a week or two. But there’s little question that, with border issues creating the need for a Canadian division, some sort of realignment will be necessary. And of the four divisions reported by ESPN earlier this week, the Eastern division makes the most geographical sense. And it promises to be the toughest grouping.
The B’s and the Sabres will essentially take the place of the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division, with the Capitals, Flyers, Rangers, Islanders, Penguins and Devils making up the eight-team division.
Let’s start with the Caps. The B’s got a rare win over Washington last season, but it’s been a brutal run over the last half-dozen seasons. Dating back to 2014-15, the B’s have gone just 2-12-4 against Wash
ington. While they won’t have to worry about goalie Braden Holtby, Peter Laviolette has signed on to coach the 2017-18 Cup champs and success tends to follow the Franklin native around. After his too-short stint with the Islanders, Laviolette has led three different teams to the Cup finals, winning it with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005- 06. Ranger refugee and future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist will split the net with up-and-comer Ilya Samsonov.
On top of the high-end skill (Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T. J. Oshie), the Caps also possess one of the most impactful physical presences in the league in Tom Wilson, which makes you wonder how heavily the B’s will go with the beef. They got some decidedly mixed results with deadline acquisition Nick Ritchie last year but there’s also an opening on the left side with the departure of Joakim Nordstrom. I’d love to see Trent Frederic, who doubled his PIMs in his second pro season, be able to fill that spot. If he can bring his rambunctious style and deliver requisite amount of points for a bottom-six player, Frederic could give the B’s an element they’ve been looking for since trading Milan Lucic.
The Caps are not the only concern.
The Flyers were one of the eight teams to earn a first-round bye in the bubble playoffs, but they weren’t quite ready for elite status once the real tourney began. It’s a good bet they’ll get there soon. Philly, at long last, has what appears to be a franchise goalie (Carter Hart) and a cornerstone defenseman (Ivan Provorov) and strength down the middle (Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier).
The Islanders, meanwhile, exhibited the hardto-play-against qualities you would expect from a team crafted by Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz. Their run to the Eastern Conference final might have been ahead of schedule, but it did not feel like a fluke.
The Pens lost some bite when they dealt Patric Hornqvist for Mike Matheson, but the star power is still there with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel.
The Rangers may still be in building mode, but Artemi Panarin accelerated that process even more than expected, Mika Zibanejad is one of the more underrated players in the league and they’ll be welcoming in top overall pick Alexis Lafreniere. They may still be a year or two away, but the Blueshirts are coming.
The Sabres added Taylor Hall and Eric Staal and, well, one of these years, something Buffalo management throws against the wall will stick, won’t it?
The proposed 56-game schedule should help older teams like the B’s and, if Brad Marchand (hernia surgery) and David Pastrnak (hip surgery) miss a little time to start the season, they’ll be that much fresher when the playoffs begin.
But the B’s will have to battle every night to get there.