McAvoy in tandem with Chara
Interim coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t ready to wholeheartedly commit to the defensive pairings for tonight’s playoff opener against the Senators in Ottawa, but it didn’t take long for rookie Charlie McAvoy to move up the practice depth chart.
At yesterday’s practice, the recently signed Boston University product was on the top pair with Zdeno Chara and also worked on the first power-play unit. If the pairing does happen, it wouldn’t be the first time Chara has been teamed up with a youngster, although this one will be making his NHL debut in the postseason. The captain worked with Dougie Hamilton at the start of the former Bruins blueliner’s career, and he spent all of this regular season being paired with rookie Brandon Carlo.
With Carlo (upper body) and Torey Krug (lower body) unavailable for at least Game 1, Cassidy has to revamp the pairings.
“I’m not getting ahead of myself,” Cassidy said. “I’m not saying he won’t play with Z. But we like the young guys with Z, Z likes to be the big brother. He relishes that role. If we’re speaking about Charlie, he’ll complement Z in getting back on pucks and helping with the transition game. That’s where Carlo’s been good. Those young guys are able to get back on pucks. . . . (Chara) is a student of the game, just talking to him one-on-one about different things, and I think that translates when he deals with the young guys. He likes that part of the game.
“(Chara) could play with Adam McQuaid, of course. It’s just when you put a young guy with a partner, that partner has to have some communication skills and want to do it. It’s pretty tough for a young kid to go in. And when (the partner) is only focused on his job, it makes it more difficult.”
At first, McAvoy, 19, could not believe his good fortune in skating next to Chara.
“It was kind of shocking at first when you’re out there moving the puck with a guy like that,” McAvoy said. “He’s just such an amazing player and the leader of this team. He was really good with me today. We talked a lot on the ice, just little lessons here and there, do this, do that. And it goes a long way. It really does. It’s no surprise why they do that. To put a guy with less experience like myself, or a guy like Brandon Carlo, and put him with a guy like that, who just has so much experience, has had such a storied career. It’s easy to see why they do that, to help that transition become easier for someone like myself.
“I’m just very thankful to have the opportunity today to be able to practice with him.”
Ins and outs
David Krejci took his second consecutive maintenance day and was joined in the shop by fellow forward Dominic Moore. Cassidy expects both to play, but he will wait until this morning to make a final determination.
Ryan Spooner skated in Krejci’s place as the center between wingers Drew Stafford and David Pastrnak, while Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson skated between Frank Vatrano and Matt Beleskey. The fourth line was Tim Schaller, Sean Kuraly and Riley Nash. ...
Forward Noel Acciari (upper body) skated before practice, but is out for Game 1.
First for Pastrnak
Pastrnak will be making his playoff debut and, as excited as the winger is for it, he doesn’t want to build it up too much in his mind.
“It’s still hockey, right? That’s what I’m going to be focusing on, go play my best hockey and any way I can help the team,” Pastrnak said. “It’s not something I will overthink.
Pastrnak doesn’t want Ottawa’s stifling system to take away too much of what he brings to the table.
“We have to put pucks deep early and go on the forecheck,” he said. “But you still want to use your creativity and make the play. It’ll be a big test for us, and we’ll see how I do.”