Lindholm back in, Grzelcyk sits out
B’s make several moves for must-win Game 6
With Hampus Lindholm’s return for Thursday’s Game 6, coach Bruce Cassidy had to make a decision on which left stick had to come out of the lineup. The numbers, presumably, made the choice fairly simple.
Matt Grzelcyk, minus-6 in five game along with an uncharacteristic three minor penalties, was the scratch for the do-or-die game at the Garden while Mike Reilly was given the nod to play with Brandon Carlo. Lindholm was back on the top pair with Charlie McAvoy and the third pair remained Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton.
Grzelcyk has been playing with an upper body injury, which no doubt has hampered him.
“Griz is playing through a little bit of stuff. We know that. He has throughout the year. We’ve given him certain nights to sort of recover and we just feel now is one of those times where we’re going to do that again,” said coach Bruce Cassidy.
Meanwhile, the return of Lindholm — GM Don Sweeney’s big acquisition at the trade deadline — was a key addition to the lineup. The big Swede was blown up on hit by Andrei Svechnikov behind the net in the second period of Game 2 in Carolina. Lindholm said it was just a matter of not being able to see the Carolina winger.
“I remember coming around the net and I wanted to try to take the middle there. Taking a peak over my shoulder, I didn’t really see anything because of the net there, which is always unlucky when look over the goalie and the net. There’s a little bit of a blind spot,” said Lindholm, who said he felt OK fairly soon after to absorbing the hit. “Luckily I’m in good shape and I was able to take it in a good way and I didn’t take it worse.”
If Lindholm had a problem with the hit — Cassidy thought at the time that it was high — he was keeping it to himself.
“Obviously, you can see he wants to hit. It’s the playoffs,” said Lindholm.
It was hoped Lindholm’s return could give the B’s a little more oomph on its attack from the back end. He admits that in the first game and a half he was able to play, he had not gotten to his game.
“Not really. Maybe I started getting there in the second game a little bit,” said Lindholm. “But there’s always something positive that comes with a negative and I get to rest here now and get my legs underneath me, so it’s going to be fun getting out there with the boys.”
It beats watching from the ninth floor.
“This time of year, you want to get out there. I would probably rank myself as the worst guy watching hockey. It’s not fun sitting in the stands watching. I’m glad to be out there,” said Lindholm.
Frederic returns
Lindholm was not the only addition to the lineup. Trent Frederic, a healthy scratch in Games 3, 4 and 5, was back with Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith. Tomas Nosek dropped back to the fourth line and Chris Wagner was scratched.
“That’s just going back to what we were successful with the second half of the year, how we started the series, essentially,” said Cassidy. “We made an adjustment in Game 3 that we felt we needed to make, but we always felt we’d like to get back to how we were playing our best hockey. It started a little bit in Game 5 that we were going to have to move some pieces around again. And we’re going to do it from the start tonight. We’ll see how it goes. We know we can shuffle pieces, but that’s how we’ll start.”
While an interference penalty landed him on the bench in Game 2, discipline is not the only thing Frederic needed to keep in mind.
“Just complement that line. Be heavy on the puck. There’s a lot of man-to-man situations. They’re a good checking team, they’ll be on you in hurry, so be on your toes first of all,” said Cassidy. “That’s one thing we have to remind Freddy, be on your toes, move your feet, be ready for pressure. Use your big frame, use your shot when it’s time to do that. Manage your emotions. Don’t chase the game. If there’s physical contact to be made there in your area, then do it. If not, then check well with you’re feet, stick on the ice, etc. and help the line play a 200-foot game. It’s the same message it’s always been.”
Top six switch
In another hope to recapture the second half success, the plan was to start with David Pastrnak with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula, both of whom have struggled without the sniper. Jake DeBrusk went back up with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The flow of the game would dictate how long those lines would stay together.
“In Game 3, (Pastrnak, Marchand and Bergeron) came together. (Marchand) hadn’t scored in a bit and they found their mojo a little bit, but it also bleeds into the power play for them,” said Cassidy. “It really helped with some faceoff plays and we know what they’re capable of. And in certain moments, we may have to go with that. But it does take away from the other line or lines and we have to be mindful of that, too.”