Bertuzzi is ‘made for the playoffs’
Winger a key player for Bruins in Game 1
There was a cruel irony in Tyler Bertuzzi’s extended absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 28-year-old winger has logged seven seasons and 326 total games in the NHL ranks. Winning a Calder Cup in 2017 in the AHL didn’t translate to success at the next level, with the Red Wings mired in mediocrity throughout Bertuzzi’s tenure with the franchise.
But his absence from the postseason was not an indictment of his own play. The pugnacious skater’s on-ice DNA is catered perfectly for the frenzied fracas set to play out over the next few weeks.
“He’s a competitor,” Brad Marchand said following the Bruins’ Game 1 win over the Panthers Monday. “He battles extremely hard. I don’t think there are any question marks about him.
“He’s just one of those guys you hate to play against. He just brings it every night. His compete level is through the roof.”
Bertuzzi checked off plenty of boxes Monday toward his goal of ingratiating himself to the TD Garden crowd.
He dropped both Radko Gudas and Carter Verhaeghe with thunderous checks, bringing close to 18,000 out of their seats.
Following in the footsteps of other playoff antagonists in black-and-gold sweaters, he plucked Nick Cousins’s stick from his grasp and deposited it into Boston’s bench — much to the latter’s dismay.
“It’s playoffs,” Bertuzzi said. “There’s going to be some stupid things that happen. And that was one of them.”
Bertuzzi’s sandpaper style is welcomed this time of year.
But the winger’s propensity to capitalize in Grade A ice might be his greatest lift to a Bruins team previously thwarted by stagnant scoring.
Bringing the puck into interior ice was a mandate of Cam Neely and Boston’s front office this season.
It was an objective spurred by recent failures, with promising playoff runs sunk against the Blues, Lightning, and Hurricanes by a reliance on quantity over quality in shot generation.
“That’s where you win hockey games,” Neely said Sunday. “It’s tough to win on the perimeter, and our group has done a really good job of battling for that inside ice.”
Bertuzzi’s efforts down low usually don’t make highlight reels. But every tip, jam, or screen can make all the difference.
It was Bertuzzi’s pestering of Florida netminder Alex Lyon that generated Jake DeBrusk’s goal Monday. With Lyon drawn from his doorstep by Bertuzzi, DeBrusk pounced on a loose puck and knocked it home to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
But Bertuzzi is more than just a fly in the ointment near the crease. His first of two helpers Monday was the byproduct of crafting something out of nothing with little time and space in which to operate.
Corralling a second-chance puck off the mask of Lyon, Bertuzzi didn’t settle for a fruitless second-chance bid, instead dishing a behind-the-back feed to David Pastrnak for a power-play wrister and a 1-0 lead.
“He has real elite poise in and around the net,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “A lot of guys would have taken that and tried to stuff it in the net on the backhand, and he just pops it over for an empty-net goal.”
Bertuzzi’s ability to dice defenses down low has been evident since the Bruins dealt for him back on March 2.
Of the 15 Bruins with at least 250 minutes of five-on-five time this season, Bertuzzi ranks first in primary assists per 60 minutes at 1.48. The Bruins are generating 14.8 high-danger chances per 60 minutes when Bertuzzi is on the ice. Only Patrice Bergeron, DeBrusk, and Marchand are generating more among forwards.
High-danger chances are logged when pucks are fired in from the low slot or other areas that put netminders under duress. They tend to come in bunches when Bertuzzi hops over the boards.
“When we acquired him, we thought he was a guy that was made for the playoffs,” said Montgomery. “He just kept making plays. Like the puck seems to follow him and he makes plays and makes really good decisions with it.”
The Bruins have the personnel to pepper goalies with one-time blasts on the power play. Odd-man rushes led by speedsters such as Taylor Hall should continue against a flimsy Florida backline.
But few teams can rely on track meets or an array of dekes and dangles to consistently generate offense, not during an extended postseason push.
If the Bruins are going to land punches against stingier defenses, they will need players to embrace the punishment that awaits near the blue paint.
It seems they have just the guy in Bertuzzi — a scrapper keen on carrying his first NHL playoff run beyond April and May.
“This is everyone’s dream when you play in the NHL, is to chase this trophy,” Bertuzzi said. “So you can’t take these moments for granted.”