Nick Ritchie gaining some forward momentum
B’s winger active in young season
The sample size, to be sure, is small. But heading into Thursday ‘s home opener, Nick Ritchie had so far been one of the Bruins’ most consistent forwards.
Through three games, Ritchie not only owned one of the three goals the team had managed to muster but he was also tied with Patrice Bergeron for a team-high 11 shots and had maybe earned a longer look-see with the top powerplay unit than some observers had anticipated.
The hulking Ritchie would not have been taken 10th overall in the 2014 draft — 15 spots ahead of David Pastrnak — if he hadn’t shown some level of skill. And he did score 39 goals for the Peterborough Petes in his draft season. He was obtained in a trade for Danton Heinen primarily for the havoc his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame could offer, but caveman qualities alone won’t keep you in today’s NHL very long.
Ritchie was a very mixed bag when he arrived from Anaheim at last season’s trade deadline, and it’s reasonable to believe outside issues could have had a negative effect on his play. Coach Bruce Cassidy has been pleased thus far from what he’s seen from the left wing. Getting it on a consistent level will be the make-or-break issue.
“A little more confidence, assertiveness. He came in late in the year. Good hockey team, we’re trying to figure out where
he best fits, the pause happens and no one really knows what’s going on. I don’t know if he really felt truly invested in the Bruins yet because he hadn’t spent much time with us. Now you go into a bubble environment, we’re manipulating our lineup for the playoffs, etc. He probably doesn’t get the opportunity he was hoping for, then an injury to his hand. Just a lot of things didn’t go well for him. He got called for a penalty that got reviewed, it’s a five-minute major that they scored on. It just seemed like he couldn’t do
anything right. Then we lose and we analyze everything,” said Cassidy.
“Now we come into the year and he’s a guy that we knew to have some upside with net presence. He’s got good hands. He was a firstround pick. There’s some talent there, some hockey sense. We were just trying to find the best spot for him. We had a talk with him, told him what the expectations were, what he could bring. And it’s worked out. He scored in training camp, in the scrimmages. He’s been a threat, every game he’s had some looks, had a goal called back, scored one on the power play. We’re giving him a little more responsibility in that area, so that’s probably got him excited to play, too. So we’re also finding out what makes him tick and he’s finding out how our team functions and the expectation of practice and in games. So far, so good. Again, he’s a big physical presence and if we can get him to play to his offensive upside in games where you
need that inside, get-tothe-net (quality) — we’d talked about that over the years, we’ve lacked some of that — so he and (Trent) Frederic are guys we’re hoping can give us that element of abrasiveness in that area. A three-game sample isn’t enough to sit there and say unequivocally yes or no. But so far, so good with him.”
While he won’t be confused with Pastrnak, he’s got a sneaky skill level. In a training camp scrimmage, he scored on a bar-down roof job that put smiles on everyone’s faces, none bigger than the one on Ritchie’s. And in Monday’s loss on Long Island, he made a nifty short pass to Bergeron from the crease to the bumper on a first
period power play. On top of first PP duty, he’s bumped up to the David Krejci line with the loss of Ondrej Kase and responded Monday with six shots on net.
“I think he’s one of those guys who, when he has the puck, he’s trying to make a play. He’s trying to find you. He keeps his head up. He’s found me a few times
in the middle on the slot there on the power play and he’s found Krech and other guys,” said Bergeron. “Obviously he’s a big body and he’s good at getting the puck back and retrieving it, but also at getting open and finding a way to score. He’s been really good. We have to continue to talk and communicate and create some more chemistry so that we’re on the same page.”
Capital punishment
The league whacked the Washington Capitals with a $100,000 fine for violation of COVID protocols, citing “social interactions” with team members in close contact and not wearing facemasks.
Brad Marchand did not have a ton of sympathy for the players, which included team captain Alex Ovechkin.
“We all want to be able to play. There’s rules put into place for a reason and they’re not that hard to follow,” said Marchand. “We all know the consequences of breaking the rules and we all know what the rules are. They brought that on themselves. We’ve all been told very heavily what we’re allowed to do and
what we’re not allowed to do. It is what it is on their side of things. But I think it comes down for having respect for one another. You could easily hurt your team by breaking the rules and potentially getting it and having to quarantine. It’s pretty simple to follow the rules. If you get it by chance, it is what it is. It’s almost inevitable. But if you’re going to put yourself in a situation, then that’s on you.”
Injury bug
The Bruins weren’t the only ones with injury issues. The Flyers were not only without their all-purpose center Sean Couturier, but defenseman Philippe Myers was lost to a fractured rib and forward Morgan Frost with a dislocated shoulder.
Puck talk
Asked if he noticed a problem with the technology-infused pucks that the league has decided to take out of circulation for the time being, Marchand delivered a line he was surely hanging onto since the news broke about the puck issues.
“Yeah — they wouldn’t go in the net,” he cracked.