Move to Boston pays early for Wotherspoon
The Bruins defensive corps had a much different look Thursday night with three regulars on the sideline.
For Parker Wotherspoon, one of the fill-ins, the goal was simple for his Bruins debut: “They’ve got a good thing going here — just keep it going.”
Mission accomplished, as Wotherspoon saw 13:46 of ice time and had four hits as the Bruins pulled out a 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Maple Leafs at TD Garden to move to 9-0-1.
Wotherspoon, who made the jump from Providence with Mason Lohrei and Ian Mitchell ,is a throwback, stay-at-home blue liner who is physical and strong on his skates.
The Bruins skated without regulars Charlie McAvoy (suspension), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body injury), and Derek Forbort (lower body).
The 6-foot-1-inch, 195pound Wotherspoon impressed coach Jim Montgomery during training camp but, like Lohrei and Mitchell, he was victim of a strong veteran nucleus ahead of him on the depth chart.
“Really good hands and good vision. Much better than what I anticipated, and he has a lot of sandpaper too,” said Montgomery, when asked about Wotherspoon’s summer. “I think what the question mark would be is how quickly he plays and assimilates how we want to play. Even though Providence plays the same way, those first-touch pucks are important. And when you haven’t played in it or if you don’t do it, it slows us down.
“And that’s not only true for him. That’s why I think our team has looked slow in quite a bit of the games.”
Wotherspoon’s defensive philosophy is a simple one.
“Just try to keep the puck out of the net,” he said matterof-factly.
Originally a fourth-round pick of the Islanders in 2015, Wortherspoon played for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League with current Bruins mates Brandon Carlo and Morgan Geekie.
When he hit free agency in July, Wotherspoon was looking for a change and immediately heard from the Bruins.
“I felt like they wanted me, and I wanted to be here too, and I wanted to win, too,” said Wotherspoon, who will likely skate with Mitchell and draw some penalty killing duty against Toronto. “I wanted to be a part of an original franchise.
“So coming to this organization is prestigious, it’s original six, and it just felt good that they showed some faith in me. And so yeah, just chose them and as soon as they were talking to me, I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s it. I know I want to go there.’ ”
Kevin Shattenkirk, who bumped up to the top pairing with Hampus Lindholm, said it’ll be a group effort to fill in the gaps.
“We’re looking at some key guys being out for sure. We’re going to have to share that responsibility and guys are going to have to step up,” he said. “So the three guys that we have filling in the roster spots have shown that they can play at this level, but we have to make it as easy for them as possible.
“Brandon, Hampus, and I, that’s our job now is to set the example on the ice, but then also be able to talk through plays with these guys and make them feel comfortable and make sure that they’re getting up to speed as quickly as possible.”
Mitchell saw 13:37 of ice time, with two shots on goal, while Lohrei was leaned on for 21:28 on ice with a hit, three shots and his first career point on an assist on the Bruins’ first goal.
Forced PP shakeup
McAvoy’s absence created a void on the top power-play unit as well, and Shattenkirk figured to play a prominent role in replacing his fellow Boston University alum.
Shattenkirk, who suited up for his 900th career game, had been on the second-power play unit. He has excellent poise at the blue line and his shots from the back end have eyes. He was looking forward to the promotion/challenge.
“Obviously, big shoes to fill,” said the 34-year-old Shattenkirk. “Charlie’s been quarterbacking it and playing great.
“I think for me, it’s a matter of simplifying and making sure I’m not afraid to shoot the puck when my chance is there and just make the right play. It’s not something that you overthink.”
The Bruins finished 0 for 2 on the man-advantange, one of which was a full two-minute 4on-3 power play in overtime.
Putting in extra work
Lindholm, who wore the “A” in McAvoy’s absence, played a Herculean 29:32. “I thought he was really good. Created a lot of opportunities,” said Montgomery . . . Former UMass defenseman William Lagesson picked up a helper on Auston Matthews’s second-period strike . . . The Bruins will practice Friday before heading out on a quick road trip to Detroit (Saturday) and Dallas (Monday).