Coach, Marchand have square talk
Brad Marchand’s numbers are down, especially his goal scoring. Long one of the game’s elite left wings, the pesky Bruin emerged from Saturday night’s 2-1 win over the visiting Devils without a goal in his last 15 games, and only one strike in the 20 games since Feb. 25.
The remedy: Shoulders.
Specifically, coach Jim Montgomery has reminded Marchand of late to approach the net with his upper body parallel with — or square to — the opposition’s netminder. When he presents with his upper torso slightly gyrated toward the net, exposing the No. 63 on his sleeve, noted Montgomery, that’s the “tell” that he’s looking to pass instead of shoot.
In short, subtleties are critical, especially in a game in which the best goalies snuff out around 93 of every 100 shots on net. The side shoulder pointed toward the net increases what are already good odds for the guy in the crease.
“Then the goalie has to honor you — and that’s the whole difference,” said Montgomery, explaining how having shoulders square to the net forces netminders to anticipate a shot, while also factoring the risk of a pass. “And it’s five on five for [Marchand] as much as it is five on four. And five on four in general, on our power play, with more shoulders [square] we are drastically better than when we’ve got the side number [on the sleeve] pointed at the goalie — that’s not a good look on the power play.”
During the first 14 games of his dry spell, Marchand landed only 27 shots on net, while Jake DeBrusk put up 45, six of which he cashed in for goals. In lockstep with Marchand, he also was skunked on the power play in the 14 games. His most recent PPG came Feb. 18.
“His focus has not been on creating his own shot,” said Montgomery. “It’s been on creating shots for other people.” Marchand didn’t end his scoring drought Saturday, but he showed more offensive zip, especially in the early going. He finished with five shots on net, one under his season high, and fired a total of seven shots across 18:17 in ice time.
Hall in a familiar spot
The No. 2 PP unit welcomed back the familiar face of left wing Taylor Hall ,who was in the lineup for the first time since twisting a knee Feb. 25 at Vancouver. Hall, 31, lined up with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. On the advantage, he rode with Tyler Bertuzzi and Pavel Zacha ,a unit backed by point men Dmitry Orlov
and Charlie McAvoy.
“I felt good,” said Hall, who landed four shots on net in his 12:12 of ice time. “I felt like the speed of the game didn’t overwhelm me. There were some plays to be made that I made. That’s what you want to do. It’s not about scoring goals, getting points. It’s about feeling like a hockey player, getting the bumps and the grinds . . . when you have to make a play under the gun . . . that’s what you want to get back before the playoffs.”
Hall will not play in Philadelphia Sunday, held out as a precautionary measure after being sidelined so long by injury.
In the afternoon, to make room for Hall’s $6 million cap hit, the Bruins placed Nick Foligno and Derek Forbort on the long-term injured reserve list, which does not necessarily indicate they will be sidelined for the start of the playoffs, and assigned Oskar Steen to AHL Providence.
Speedy recovery
McAvoy was back in the lineup after exiting Thursday night’s action midway through the second period with an upperbody injury. The big defenseman’s quick return was somewhat surprising, after Montgomery said postgame Thursday that he was inclined to shut him down as a precautionary measure through the weekend matchups against the Devils and Flyers.
“We just weren’t sure,” said Montgomery. “Obviously, he’s progressed really well. At this juncture, where we’re at, we would not be risking anything — so he’s 100 percent.”
Hughes brothers united
The Devils signed defenseman Luke Hughes — the 19-year-old brother of AllStar center Jack Hughes — to a three-year contract, though he was not in action Saturday. General manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the deal two days after Luke’s college season ended with Michigan’s Frozen Four loss to Quinnipiac. Luke was the fourth overall selection in the 2021 draft; Jack, just 21, was the first overall selection in 2019 . . . David Pastrnak remains at 57 goals, giving him possibly three more cracks to become only the second Bruin to connect for 60. Phil Esposito reached that rarified air four times, including his last full season here (197475). Only 22 NHLers have summited Mount 60.