Taking one for the team
Hall adjusting to life without Pastrnak
Separating David Pastrnak from Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand back in January saved the Bruins’ playoff hopes. Reuniting them now very well could be what is keeping their Stanley Cup hopes alive.
But with that re-loading of the top line that had been so successful for years, it has forced another one of the B’s high-end stars to adjust.
When Pastrnak was dropped to the second line on New Year’s Day, Taylor Hall’s game — stagnant for the first three months of the season — took off. Right now? Not so much. But Hall is fully on board with going with what’s working in the moment. It is the playoffs after all, and he’ll have to figure out a way for his line with Erik Haula and new right wing Craig Smith to be effective, one way or another.
Going into Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Hall has not been able to make much of an impact since scoring in Game 1 (he did score an important powerplay goal in Game 3). He was also a team-worst minus-6, though the effort certainly seems to be there, as evidenced by his end-to-end back check in Game 4.
This time of year is less about stats, and more about finding ways to contribute to win.
“Their line’s rolling, and the other three lines on our team right now, it’s about letting them do their thing and then when we get out there, and (it’s figuring out), ‘Can we contribute? Can we add to that? Can we be a line that makes a difference, other than them?’ That’s our focus,” said Hall speaking to reporters in Raleigh before Game 5. “Whether I’m playing with Smitty or Pasta, I still have to attack and make plays and use my feet and use my speed when I need to. No matter who I’m playing with, if I’m doing that, it’s going to be a good night for me and whatever line I’m on, usually. It’s a bit of an adjustment. They’re a tough team defensively. They’re probably the best defensive team in the league. It’s not like they have one defensive pair that is shut-down and then the rest are just so-so. They have three really good pairs and three pairs that are hard to play against.
And for our line, it’s about cracking that code.”
While coach Bruce Cassidy had traditionally mixed up his lines liberally — at least the bottom three lines — he pretty much kept the top six forwards in their place since he made the big switch on Jan. 1. Hall said he’d never experienced such extended continuity — and appreciated it.
“That was nice and it kind of changed our season,” said Hall. “As we progressed, we had more balanced lines. And then different times dictate different measures. And then in a playoff series, it’s about winning one game at a time. Sometimes you need to mix it up and throw it around. Obviously that’s been a real big plus for our team.”
Cassidy, meanwhile, left the door open for the lines to be scrambled again once the puck was dropped for Game 5. With the series shifting back to Raleigh, that gives Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour the right to last change, which could make things difficult if the B’s went too top heavy against the effective Jordan Staal checking line.
“It will be an in-game decision, in the moment. We’re down to a best twoout-of-three, so we’ll do whatever is right in-game to get back on track,” said Cassidy. “That was the reason for it, late in the second period of Game 2, whenever we switched back. I just felt we needed some offensive momentum and those two guys could benefit from seeing each other, March and Pasta, and they have. We’ll see. A lot’s made of the matchup, and they’ll control that for the most part. We scored a couple of goals off faceoffs the other day and sometimes icing can take you out of your matchup. So that’s something we’ll keep an eye on it. At the end of the day, those guys have played against all the best in the National Hockey League almost year to year. Yes, it’s a challenge for them, but they’ve also been through these so that’s what they’re up against.”
Whatever happens, Hall has put his trust in Cassidy.
“You’ve got to trust him. He’s our coach, he’s a great coach,” said Hall. “And we’re about getting wins here. Whatever lines or combos or whatever it is, jersey colors, if it’s going to change the mojo for us and get us to win hockey games is what we’re going to do and we’ve all bought into that.”
McAvoy arrives in N.C.
Charlie McAvoy, who missed Game 4 because he was in COVID protocol, made a dramatic late-afternoon arrival to Raleigh via private jet and was indeed suited up for the Bruins in Game 5 against the Hurricanes.
McAvoy’s arrival at PNC Arena was witnessed by reporters in Raleigh.
Cassidy said after the morning skate that McAvoy was not going to play but the star defenseman somehow hit the right criteria in the NHL’s complicated protocol to travel to the game.
McAvoy played in Game 3 last Friday at the Garden but was then one of a handful of players who did not practice on Saturday.
Then just as warmups began before Sunday’s Game 4, the Bruins announced he had entered the league’s COVID protocol.
The insertion of McAvoy into the lineup meant Josh Brown was scratched.
Hampus Lindholm, meanwhile, remained sidelined after suffering a big hit from Andrei Svechnikov in Game 2.After the morning skate, it was still believed that both players would be out.
“We’d obviously love to have those guys back in our lineup. They make a huge difference for us,” said Matt Grzelcyk.
“But we’ve always had that next man up mentality, no matter what. Our backs have been against the wall there, especially the last two games. We had to win those games. We’re never going to have one guy that’s going to replace either of them. We’ve got to do it by committee and guys really take a lot of pride in that and buckle down. It’s fun to be a part of. Obviously, those are challenging times for sure. It can be a little uneasy before the game when we don’t have those guys, but we have great leaders in the room. They lead and we follow.”