New lines build chemistry
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Bruins fought off a bit of jet lag, a possible visit from the sandman, and an actual earthquake to hold a spirited practice at Sharks Ice facility Wednesday.
The magnitude 4.1 rumbler was no biggie to the locals, though the cell phone alert — “Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold on. Protect Yourself ” — was as jarring as a Charlie McAvoy hip check to some East Coasters.
The sleepy start to practice didn’t sit well with Jim Montgomery, who gathered his club 10 minutes in and delivered a message.
“I didn’t like [the intensity] in the beginning,” said the coach. “You kind of expected a long day yesterday, change in the time, all that factors into it.
“I thought after the first seven minutes the pace picked up and we started to have the intensity that we’re going to require to have any kind of success [Thursday].”
The distractions behind them, the Bruins cranked it up a notch, with some of the new line combinations clearly getting more comfortable with each other.
The new trio of rookie Matt Poitras centering Brad Marchand (left) and Morgan Geekie (right) stood out. The quickness and vision are obvious and there’s already a sense that chemistry is building.
“The speed and creativity have been evident, and they’re going hard to the net, which I don’t care what the makeup is of your line,” said Montgomery. “I don’t care if you’re a possession line or you’re a rush line. You’ve got to get to the hard areas and you’ve got to stop there, and I see them doing that.”
Marchand’s offensive track record is long and proven, and much has been written about the strides Poitras has made through the summer and early fall. Geekie is kind of the under-the-radar wild card.
He has good size (6 feet 3 inches, 200 pounds) and drives through the slot with authority. Geekie also has lunchpail toughness.
“I just like the way he builds a team game,” said Montgomery. “I especially like how he wins races to the net-front and stays there, takes a lot of punishment. I think he’s someone that’s going to really help us with our net-front battle and our net-front presence, five on five and on the power play.”
Geekie has played a ton of center in his career, and that position versatility is key because sometimes in the flow of a shift you might have to take over in the center spot, even if you hopped over boards as a winger.
“Can never have enough centermen,” said Montgomery. “People have played historically center because now they can replace each other and especially when you’re playing with a guy like Poitras, it saves him a little down-low coverage time, which in our D-zone coverage is very demanding, saves him for offensive creativity.”
Charlie Coyle, who had been playing on the de facto top line with Marchand, spent the practice with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic, with Danton Heinen, who is still on his PTO, subbing in. Montgomery said Coyle was unfazed by the switch.
“Charlie’s a consummate player,” said the coach. “All he cares about is winning. Whatever he can do to impact the team to win his game doesn’t change whether I’m using them with March on or whether I’m using them with Frederick, and that’s the beauty of him. I can move him anywhere and he’s going to help the Bruins win hockey games.”
Ullmark’s turn
Look for Linus Ullmark to get the start Thursday against the Sharks, his second of the season but first in eight days because of the quirky schedule.
Montgomery said he’s tried to make practice “as game-like as possible” to keep Ullmark sharp. “A lot of drills where he sees pucks that he would see normally in a game,” he said.
Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy holder, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“We’re just trying to stay focused throughout the period and not take any days off really,” he said. “Whenever we’re out there on the ice practicing, you try to do your best and try to improve and not just go about your day and mess around.
“Because we know that it’s going to be a long season and obviously it’s not the perfect schedule for our sake, but at the same time a little adversity here and there, there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Ullmark had a group of autograph seekers, including one who wore his sweater, waiting for him post-practice.
“Boston, we are very fortunate that our fans are everywhere,” said Ullmark. “Boston Bruins overall is a very liked and disliked team, depending on which team you like. But we are very fortunate that we have our fans in all places of the world.”
Line ’em up
The other lines at practice had Pavel Zacha centering David Pastrnak (right) and Jake DeBrusk (left), and Johnny Beecher between Milan Lucic (left) and Jakub Lauko (right) ... With three games in four nights coming up, Montgomery said there would be a chance for forward Patrick Brown and defenseman Ian Mitchell to make their season debuts ... Matt Grzelcyk popped in a goal during the final competitive session and as a reward, a small chunk of time was chopped off at the end of practice. Needless to say, the native Townie was mobbed by his teammates.