Cupboard not completely empty
Cassidy hopes Vaakanainen follows Steen’s path from Providence
The Bruins’ farm system is not exactly teeming with high-end, star caliber prospects, at least at the pro level.
BRUINS NOTEBOOK
A couple of trade deadline deals, made in a win-now mode, and some much-discussed, haunting misses in the 2015 draft have contributed to that.
But the cupboard has not been completely bare. While most thought this might be the year that Jack Studnicka, the B’s second-round pick in 2017, would stick around, he has not been able to gain traction in his brief call-ups.
Oskar Steen, however, is another story.
In seven NHL games this year, the 2016 sixth-round pick has 1-4-5 totals. The number of chances he’s had for himself and created for others suggest that stat line is no fluke. Built like a hydrant, the 5-foot-9, 192pound Swede has made it clear he’s NHL-ready, and he’s already shown he could make the step from the fourth line to the third without any discernible drop-off.
For the foreseeable future, he’s not going anywhere.
“He’s played himself into a spot and his kept his spot because of his play, very simply put. We had some left shots over on the right wing so that it helps he’s a right stick. I think it balances our group out,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Obviously Jake (DeBrusk) is getting very close to getting back in the lineup, but we’ve tried to keep him on the left side. With (Nick) Foligno‘s injury, if it ends up being long-term or medium-term, however you want to list it, that allows Steener another opportunity. But as I’ve said, he’s made it real difficult for us to take him out and we haven’t, for that reason. Good for him. That’s what you want. Putting young talent in the lineup makes the whole team better, not just the line or him as an individual, but it makes everyone around him better and it pushes other guys. Not only that, it gives the guys down in Providence a little bit of… juice to think ‘Hey, there is room up there. A guy can push his way in.’ It’s good for the group down there was well.”
One guy the B’s hope can follow in Steen’s progression is defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. Arriving with a better pedigree than Steen — 18th overall in the 2017 draft — the left-shot Finn has not enjoyed a straight line development. But his game had grown in recent weeks down in Providence. In his first NHL game this season, he held his own against a quality opponent in Tampa on Saturday and was getting another shot Monday against the Capitals.
Most of what Cassidy knows of Vaakanainen’s game this year has been what he’s getting from the staff in Providence, but it’s positive.
“It’s how he’s become a better pro, how he’s preparing himself in practice, consistency and just being there every night ready to play. I think a lot players go through that. It takes a while,” said Cassidy. “We saw that with (Jakub) Zboril. He’s a good example of a guy who I thought became a better pro as he got a little bit older. The things that make you a better pro are using practice time to your advantage when you’re not playing if you’re up here, using it to your advantage if you are playing down in Providence and mentally getting yourself to be a difference-maker every night with what you do best. (Zboril) went through it and got the opportunity to come up here. Vaak looks like he could be on a similar path from how well he played in Providence. The other night I thought he played well, but again he’s got to string some games together like most of the young guys who come up here. We’re watching it right now with Steen. Every night he’s trying to impact the game and he’s doing a good job. Hopefully Vaak can do it in a positive manner as well.”
Pastrnak getting the best out of Hall
Taylor Hall went into Monday’s game riding a fivegame point streak (2-3-5), which of course coincides with Cassidy changing the lines, putting him with right wing David Pastrnak and center Erik Haula.
“I think he just enjoys Pasta’s style of play and can read off him well,” said Cassidy. “Obviously there’s still some rush situations they’ve got to sort out. Taylor’s so fast that he sometimes overskates some plays and Pasta’s got some good speed as well. That part should match up eventually pretty well for them. But I think it’s just a guy getting excited to play with an elite level player. And it’s as simple as that. At the end of the day, you want Taylor to play well and hard and with whoever is on his right wing and whoever his centerman is, but I just think it’s human nature when you’ve got a guy like that, you’re going to find another gear if you have it. And he does have it.”
After Pastrnak broke his long goal drought with the game-winner against New Jersey last week, he said the line’s chemistry was still a work in progress. But it appears some progress has been made. Pastrnak’s first goal in Tampa came off a lucky bounce, but his second one was a result of some terrific work in the offensive zone.
“The last game was a little bit better game than our previous one as a line,” Pastrnak said on Monday. “We were a lot better on the forecheck, we were way closer. The first couple of games I think we were a little bit too far away from each other. We got some good chances because of our good forecheck. I think that was good and hopefully we can keep getting more pucks and spending more time in the O-zone.”
And speaking of the line changes, former Bruin David Krejci made some waves last week when in a story in a Czech publication he questioned why the top line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand has now been broken up when Krejci only got rare chances to play with Pastrnak.
“I didn’t really see the article so I don’t know if the translation was correct. But obviously it was well-known we were very close friends and we always had chemistry together,” said Pastrnak. “We liked to play together, everyone knew that. It’s just that we were doing so good with Bergy and March and it was hard to split us up. I think it’s well-known I wanted to play with Krech and Krech wanted to play with me. But at the same time, we are the players and we are playing with the players who we’re with.”
Clifton, Forbort enter COVID protocol
After COVID ran through much of the B’s forward group, it has set its sights on the blue line.
The B’s lost their third defense pair on Monday when Connor Clifton and Derek Forbort, as well as a staff member, entered COVID protocol. They are the 14th and 15th Bruin players to have entered protocol. Clifton’s game has been quietly coming on lately while his partner Forbort is averaging the most ice time (3:11) on the B’s penalty kill.
Charlie McAvoy, who missed the the previous two games with a lower body injury, returned to the lineup while veteran John Moore also drew into the lineup.
Cassidy said that DeBrusk, who has been in COVID protocol, will skate on Tuesday and could return to the lineup on Wednesday. …
Foligno, who appeared to suffer a left knee injury on Saturday, will undergo an MRI when the team returns to Boston. …
There is still no clarity on a plan action for Tuukka Rask, who could either go down to Providence later this week or go right into the Boston lineup.