LAZAR NEARS RETURN
Bruins forward avoids surgery
Curtis Lazar returned to practice on Tuesday and could be available as early as tonight’s game against the smoking hot Florida Panthers.
But the valuable utility man was very close to being on the shelf until the spring.
After skating with his teammates at Warrior Ice Arena for the first time since being injured in the final preseason game, Lazar revealed that when he crashed into the goal post on Oct. 6 he suffered a subluxation of his elbow and that surgery, which would have wiped out most of the regular season for him, was a very real possibility.
“Yeah, it was very close to that,” said Lazar on Tuesday. “I’m very fortunate to have avoided that. Lot of a credit to the training staff here helping me to get back ahead of my timeline. But those are the things where you make the best of a bad situation. The season could have been gone, but here I am a month later and I’m excited and thankful and looking forward to contributing to this team.”
Lazar left the B’s 4-3 over
time loss to the Capitals at the end of preseason when, as he often does, he took the puck hard to the net and crashed into the post in the third period. Up until that point, he’d been having a strong training camp and was expected to be the fourth-line right wing.
“I’ve got a score to fix with that post. He one-upped me there, so I’ll try to shoot the puck in off it next time,” joked Lazar, adding some details that were not so pleasing to the imagination.
“My arm went one way it wasn’t supposed to. I was pretty close to having nothing real
ly stopping it from moving any way it wanted to,” said Lazar. “But I take a lot of pride in keep my body in the best shape I can. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. But I had that sliver of hope and just from that moment on, we attacked it right away and it allowed me to get better every day with no setbacks. I’m very thankful.”
Coach Bruce Cassidy said that the team will go through its morning skate today in Sunrise and then determine if Lazar will play against the Panthers. If not, then the coach expects him to be in the lineup
by Thursday in Carolina.
Lazar said he wasn’t overly anxious about losing his job while on the shelf.
“The roster’s set at 23 guys, but you need a lot more to be successful,” said Lazar. “For me going down, it was an opportunity for someone else. Yeah, you can say it’s tough watching some guy take your reps here and there but I’m never going to think that way. Everyone here is an NHL player and they deserve to play. Sometimes you’re the odd one out looking in. But I’m never going to try and take away someone’s spot. It’s a team effort, a group effort. I’m excited to do my part, whatever that is, and I think the coaching staff knows what I can offer.”
Smith to miss next two
Craig Smith, who missed Sunday’s game with a lower body injury, skated prior to practice but will not make the trip. Cassidy hopes hell be ready by Saturday when the the B’s again take on the Panthers.
The Smith absence will affect where Lazar fits in the lineup. Cassidy hadn’t yet worked that out fully, but it sounded like he’d like to keep him on the wing. That could mean Oskar Steen comes out and Lazar goes up to play third line right wing with Erik Haula and Jake DeBrusk.
Lazar, a natural center, does take pride in his versatility. But he admits that, even if the wing is less work, it still takes some adapting.
“It’s a little more standing around,” said Lazar. “I like being that problem-solver in the D-zone where you’re around the puck at all times. So trying to take that breath and being a little more patient is an adjustment.”
Studnicka sticking with fourth line
With Nick Foligno and Anton Blidh still out, Cassidy said he’ll likely keep Jack Studnicka at center on the fourth line. While he had said in camp that he’d like to keep Studnicka in the top nine, playing on the fourth line provides some requisite stripeearning for any young player.
“They need to learn that part of the game if they want to play,” said Cassidy. “These young kids have to learn to play against good players. It doesn’t have to be every shift, every night for 82 games, but they have to be comfortable, whether it’s two, three, four times a night. ‘Hey, here comes (Logan) Couture‘s line, you’ve got to dig in, they’re a threat.’ You have to be careful
you don’t put them in positions to fail but they should have some confidence that if they get out there … because that’s what’s going to happen on the road. You’re going to see tougher matchups because the other coach wants to expose those young guys. You don’t want to be a 15-minuter a night player at home and an 8-minute player a night on the road.”
South is rising
After handing the Sabres and Sharks — two early season surprises — their first losses, the B’s will bump up in competition against the 6-0 Panthers and 5- 0 Hurricanes.
“Just talking to (coach Jon Cooper) in Tampa about Florida and their series last year, he felt they were a really, really good team and knocking on the door and they’ve shown that so far,” said Cassidy. “Carolina we’ve seen every year, they’re right there. It’ll be a good evaluation of your own team of where you’re at as well. You’d like to be at full strength but that’s just the way it is, but let’s see where we’re at against two really good offensive teams, how our defensive game will play out against some potent offenses.”
Linus Ullmark will get the start against the Panthers tonight, his third straight start, and Jeremy Swayman will play in Carolina on Thursday.