‘Gritty’ Szwarz answers call to fill void
One man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity to leave the long bus rides of the American Hockey League behind.
With veteran forward David Backes undergoing colon surgery today and expected to miss eight weeks, the Bruins called up Jordan Szwarz, who can play on the wing or in the middle, kill penalties and also bring some of the grit lost with Backes.
The 26-year-old Szwarz is Providence’s No. 2 scorer, with five goals and three assists (and a plus-7 rating) plus two fights in six games. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder has NHL experience, playing parts of 2013-14 and 2014-15 with the Arizona Coyotes, totaling four goals in 35 games. His lone NHL bout was against old friend Andrew Ference.
“It’s been two years now since I played an NHL game,” said Szwarz, an Ontario native. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion. I’m pretty excited for the opportunity that’s being given me. I’m going to do my best to make the most of it. The real work starts now. I’ve got my work cut out here to try and open some eyes and keep the job as long as I can.”
He’s a guy who’ll provide some physical pushback if needed.
“I’m a gritty guy, a very competitive guy,” he said. “I’ve always been a very tenacious-type player. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and drop the gloves every night, but I’m going to play hard, I’m going to finish checks and hopefully bring some grittiness to the lineup.”
Krejci out tonight
As any fan who’s battled back ailments knows, it’s hard to predict when the problems will go away.
So it is with B’s No. 2 center David Krejci, who will miss his fifth game when the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Garden tonight. Krejci hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Washington, but after nearly two weeks off skates, a return would be a longshot . . . .
In practice, the B’s had a No.1 line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak with the No. 2 unit featuring Riley Nash, Tim Schaller and Jake DeBrusk. The third group was Anders Bjork, Danton Heinen and Szwarz, while the fourth line consisted of Sean Kuraly, Frank Vatrano and Matt Beleskey.
McIntyre backup plan
After a day off Tuesday, the B’s also summoned No. 3 goalie Zane McIntyre from Providence. Anton Khudobin, who did not travel to Columbus for Monday’s game because of a minor lower-body injury, did not take part in practice yesterday.
“With (Khudobin), we were hoping it would be quick,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It hasn’t healed as quickly as you would like. We’ll see where he’s at.” . . .
Former Canadiens winger Ryan White remains with the team on a tryout basis after three weeks, and it would seem the Backes loss might spur the club to sign the pesky 29-year-old.
Nothing easy here
During the summer, Game 11 on the Bruins schedule might have looked like an easy two points, with the expansion Golden Knights making their first Causeway Street visit.
But now tonight’s game will be a major test for the Bruins. The Knights are the No. 1 surprise of the 2017-18 season. Coach Gerard Gallant’s hard-working, defensiveminded club is off to an 8-3-0 start, though it has lost the first two of a six-game trip, in Manhattan and Brooklyn. With Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban hurt, Vegas already has used four goalies.