Lauzon is a big hit in Nashville
NASHVILLE — Jeremy Lauzon hits things. Trent Frederic can confirm this.
Lauzon, a Predators defenseman and one of Boston’s three second-round picks in the 2015 draft, entered Tuesday night’s game at Bridgestone Arena leading the NHL with 346 hits, and he added four in 18:47 of ice time in the Predators’ 3-0 loss to the Bruins.
“He hit my car once,” Frederic deadpanned following the Bruins’ morning skate.
Frederic, Lauzon, Cam Hughes, and Wiley Sherman were roommates in Providence in their early pro days when the mishap occurred.
“Me and Shermy or me and Hughesy were just going on a walk and we kind of had a downhill parking spot and I guess he just hit it,” Frederic said, laughing as he recalled the story. “He called me freaking out. I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it. You couldn’t have done that much damage,’ but it was all good.”
These days, Lauzon is keeping his collisions on the ice for a Predators club that has surged since the Christmas break and holds the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
“I think it’s something that I bring every night. I’m a hard player to play against and I pride myself in that. And obviously when there’s a hit in front of me and I can get a hit done, I do it. And it’s been just rolling for me this year,” said Lauzon. “I think I feel great on the ice, my skating’s way better, so I can close faster on guys so I can get more hits. But it’s awesome to be up there [at the top of the list] and obviously my teammates help me a lot. It’s been just a great season for everybody in here.”
After 76 games over three seasons with the Bruins, Lauzon was plucked by the Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft.
His stay in Seattle lasted just 53 games, and he was dealt here at the 2022 trade deadline.
“I knew I had a chance to get picked when [the Bruins] didn’t protect me. Obviously, I would’ve loved them to do so, but everything happened for a reason,” said Lauzon, who had dinner Monday with some of his ex-teammates. “Now I’m here and I’m happy to be here, but obviously Boston’s always been a special place for me. It’s the team that drafted me. It’s the team that gave me my first chance in the NHL, so I’m forever grateful for them.”
Van Riemsdyk is in
James van Riemsdyk was back in the lineup against the Predators after getting Saturday night off in Washington. The veteran winger has been in and out of the lineup lately. Against Nashville, he played on a line with Morgan Geekie and Frederic (landing one shot on net in 13:30 of ice time), bumping Jakub Lauko to the press box.
“I guess what he was doing earlier in the year, where he was on top of pucks, he was executing in all three zones and making things happen,” coach Jim Montgomery said when asked what van Riemsdyk’s needs to do to stay in the lineup consistently.
Part of JVR’s struggles — he hasn’t scored a goal since Feb. 17 — can be attributed to an illness that sapped his strength.
“It was kind of a weird thing. I usually pride myself on not being sick too often, so it definitely took a lot out of me, but I’m excited to be feeling a lot better and again, trying to just build my game,” said van Riemsdyk, who worked the net front on the second power-play unit.
“I think strengths in my game are just playing smart, playing with detail, making the right play all the time, and playing within the structure of the team. So, those are the things that we’re trying to work on at this time of year.”
Brazeau exits
The Bruins lost fourth-line winger Justin Brazeau in the first period to what the team called an upper-body injury.
Brazeau, who has five goals and 7 points in 19 games, collided with Nashville defenseman Luke Schenn near center ice and hit the deck awkwardly. The rookie popped up and headed for the bench and appeared to be holding his right wrist as he went down the tunnel. Schenn was called for roughing on the play.
“We’ll have more in the coming days about length and stuff,” said Montgomery, “but we don’t really have much besides that right now.”
A real gamer
Brad Marchand played in his 1,023rd game, tying Zdeno Chara for seventh on the franchise’s all-time list. Next up is Wayne Cashman (1,027) . . . Mason Lohrei rejoined the blueline corps, leaving Matt Grzelcyk and Parker Wotherspoon as the scratches . . . The Bruins signed University of Minnesota center Jaxon Nelson to a oneyear, entry-level deal for the 2024-25 season. It comes with an NHL salary-cap hit of $870,000. The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound Nelson collected 42 goals and 89 points in 169 games for the Gophers. “Jaxon is a big, right-shot, two-way center with leadership qualities as captain of a very successful collegiate program,” general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement . . . Pat Maroon made the trip and did some penaltykilling work against the top power-play unit at the morning skate. “He’s probably goofing around out there on the penalty kill,” said Montgomery. “I was watching the power play, but he’s taking those steps to get back.” . . . Team president Cam Neely took in the morning skate . . . Sign of the night (which was in the shape of Louisiana): “#6 We’re LA Proud,” a nod to Lohrei, the first NHL player from the state . . . Song of the night: “the mockingbird & THE CROW,” by Hardy.