FORECAST FOR HURRICANES
What to watch for in series vs. Carolina
The Bruins enjoyed a day off Saturday before returning for a Sunday practice in preparation for Monday’s Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Who knows if their next day off will be in 10 days or two months from now. They hope it’s the latter.
But they’ve got their work cut out for them against a Hurricanes team that has been building steadily under coach Rod Brind’amour. And if the regular season is any indication, the ‘Canes are ready to take the next step. They will have to do so over the Bruins, a team that knocked them out of the playoffs in 2019 and 2020.
It should be fun, and we don’t have to wait long to get it going. But before we start in earnest, here are five things to watch and ponder heading into the series.
1. Savor what could be Patrice Bergeron’s last run
Whether Bergeron has made up his mind about his playing future or not, he has not revealed it to the general public. He is still without a contract extension, but that’s by his choice.
If he had ever said during the season that he wants to come back, GM Don Sweeney would have had the document in front of his captain in a heartbeat. If there has been drop-off, it’s been indiscernible for the 36-year-old Bergeron. Most analytics say that he should win a record fifth Selke Award in a runaway, though you never know how the vote will go (a handful of voters last year stunningly left him off their ballots entirely). There is little doubt he could continue his career at high level.
But, again, the fact that he’s without a new deal makes you think he’s still not sure. And in the regular season home finale, when he scored his 398th, 399th and 400th goal, there was a little bit of a swan song feel to the players’ celebration. When Bergeron talked about how proud he was that he was able to score all those goals in a Bruin uniform, there was a sentimental feel to it, one from a player who may be pondering the end of a great career. Is that reading far into the situation? Sure, a little bit. But to just assume that Bergeron will be back next year would be an exercise in whistling by the graveyard. It would be great if it he did come back,
but you should turn your appreciation meter up, just to be safe.
2. Charlie Mcavoy’s Norris Trophy push
No, the Bruins’ defenseman is not going to win the Norris this year.
The video game numbers that Roman Josi and Cale Makar have put up means one of the two will be a lock for the award given to the league’s best defenseman. But the playoffs are when players really get on voters’ radars. It’s no coincidence that Bergeron won his first Selke the year after the B’s won the 2011 Stanley Cup.
Since the arrival of Hampus Lindholm, you get the feeling that Mcavoy is on the verge of exploding offensively. The way Lindholm breaks out the puck and carries his weight defensively has allowed Mcavoy to join the play offensively more than he ever has. And they’ve only played 10 games together. Even while playing most of the season without Lindholm, Mcavoy fired 166 shots on net, easily the most of his career. The 24-year-old Mcavoy seems juiced about what he can do offensively. He set career highs in goals (10) and assists (46).
“Yeah, it’s cool,” said Mcavoy, breaking into a big smile last week. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to improve on, starting to shoot the puck more and scoring goals so it’s nice to see them go in and be rewarded. I want to keep doing that. It’s fun. Scoring goals is fun. I think I should try and do it more.”
Considering the fact he’s better defensively than most of the current Norris candidates, he should no longer be on the outskirts of the award voting.
3. Linus Ullmark’s playoff debut
Sweeney shocked a lot of people when he decided to make a big commitment last summer when he signed Ullmark to a four-year, $20 million contract. Many of us were expecting a stop-gap measure, like a Petr Mrazek. Jeremy Swayman was considered to be the goalie of the future — and may still be — and Tuukka Rask was going to try a comeback attempt at some point. Who needed Ullmark — and at that number, no less?
It turns out the Bruins did. Rask’s body did not allow him to continue after hip surgery and Ullmark spent much of the season in a friendly competition for the No. 1 spot with Swayman. Coach Bruce Cassidy hasn’t officially divulged who his starter will be Monday, but Ullmark has clearly earned it with his play down the stretch, going 9-1 and allowing more than
two goals just twice. Now it’s on to the playoffs, something the 28year-old Swede never experienced in Buffalo.
“Whenever the thought comes into my head, I’m excited for the opportunity to play for the Cup,” said Ullmark. “That’s what everybody strives for, to have the opportunity. It means a lot for my hard work — and Lady Luck has been on my side, too — to end up in the playoffs in a place like this, Boston, with great teammates, great organization that brings their ‘A’ game every single game. It’s been great. It can only be better.”
4. The health and play of the second defense pairing
Matt Grzelcyk has been battling an upper body injury for most of the season and, as undersized as he is, health will always be a concern for him. The loss of Grzelcyk in the 2019 Cup finals might have been the biggest factor in the B’s
ultimately coming up short. He may not put up big offensive numbers, but his ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone should not be underrated.
Brandon Carlo is another player who has battled health issues. When he’s available and on, he can be a difference-maker, as he was in the B’s ’19 run to the Finals. But he’s had concussion issues. When he was knocked out of the Islanders’ series last year, that opened up things for Mat Barzal, who had done very little in the series until Carlo was lost. Carlo has not been as consistent as one would have hoped, and he had a few rough moments down the stretch. If the B’s are going to go on a run, this pairing needs to be highly effective.
5. Can Jake Debrusk keep this up?
OK, I’ll admit it. I wanted DeBrusk moved after his trade request became public last November. From this viewpoint, there were serious concerns about what his buy-in would be if the trade deadline came and went and he was still a Bruin. Well, he’s still here, and there has been little about which to complain. With Bergeron and Brad Marchand undoubtedly leading him both on and off the ice, Debrusk is playing the best 200-foot hockey of his career. Even with the first half of the season being a complete washout for him, he still wound up with 25 goals, just two shy of his career high.
But now the intensity ratchets up higher. Opponents are on the same schedule. They place just as much importance on each game on every given night. He’s kept his head in the game so far, more so than what I had anticipated. Good for Debrusk. But playoffs are a different animal, and the B’s will need first-line production from their first-line right wing.