Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and coach Jim Montgomery addressed the media on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Here’s five takeaways from what they said:
BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Boston Bruins kick off their best-of-7, first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. General manager Don Sweeney and coach Jim Montgomery each addressed the media over the past couple days. Here are the key talking points entering Game 1:
1. The Goalie Situation
The biggest question surrounding the Bruins is the goalie situation. More specifically, will it be Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark getting the start in Game 1, and will the team continue the rotation?
We covered this topic more in-depth on Friday, and while neither Sweeney nor Montgomery revealed much about their plans, they seem to be in agreement with how to proceed.
2. The Focus Areas Against Toronto
Given the star power Toronto boasts in its forward group, the Bruins are making it their top priority to slow them down. Auston Matthews scored the most goals in a single-season (69) this century, and the Maple Leafs were the second-highest scoring team during the regular season with 3.63 goals per game.
In addition to Boston’s aforementioned goalies, it will be up to the rest of the team to lock down their forward group.
“I think we got to be aware of their top-end forwards,” Montgomery said on Friday. “You got to stay over top of them. We can’t give up odd-man rushes. We got to make them defend.”
Special teams will also play an important role – Toronto has a top 10 power play while Boston is still sorting things out – but Montgomery also stressed the importance of winning battles at 5-on-5. Seems obvious, but given how much special teams can tip the scales in the postseason, winning at even strength becomes even more important.
3. Addressing the Power Play
Speaking of the man advantage, the Bruins appear to be rolling with the power play shakeup they experienced at the end of the regular season. Kevin Shattenkirk, Danton Heinen and Pat Maroon were all elevated to the top unit alongside David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha, while Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand were shifted down with Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and Morgan Geekie on the second unit.
“Our power play needs to come back on line here,” Sweeney said on Thursday. “Fortunately we scored a goal the other night [against Ottawa on Tuesday] to hopefully give the guys a little bit of confidence. And it’s gonna be just a really good challenge at all levels.”
Montgomery brushed aside concerns that Marchand and McAvoy – two of the team’s leaders that have held down prominent roles on special teams for a long time – would be discouraged by the demotion. In fact, he hinted the two units might experience a more even split in time rather than keeping the top unit out for the majority.
“The great part about the Bruins is the leaders will do whatever is best for the Bruins,” Montgomery said. “[If] they think having two units going one minute each is what’s gonna give us the pace and the purpose to have success, they’re all in."
4. Roster Battles
Aside from the goalie decision, the Bruins have more or less had the rest of their big lineup decisions made for them. If Matt Poitras and/or Justin Brazeau were healthy, that would lead to a whole other set of questions regarding how the middle/bottom six would be arranged. Not that the Bruins consider themselves lucky, but it leads to fewer questions.
It appears the odd man out in the forward group is James van Riemsdyk. The 34-year-old has been moving in and out of the lineup with just one point in his last 20 games, and none in the past 13. Given his experience, it wouldn’t be a shock if he gets a look at some point in this series – especially if another forward is struggling – but otherwise the forward group should be locked in.
As for the defense, deadline acquisition Andrew Peeke has impressed the management staff since his arrival. Montgomery expressed full confidence in him to execute the team’s system and believes he’ll be fueled by the playoff atmosphere in what will be his first NHL postseason.
Sweeney pointed to how Peeke stepped in during Brandon Carlo’s brief absence towards the end of the regular season, and credited the scouting staff for pointing him out as a player worth going after to develop.
“He assumes penalty killing minutes and shutdown minutes and hard-nosed minutes that we appreciate as part of our group,” Sweeney said.
After he practiced with the top power-play unit on Friday, it’s hard to imagine Kevin Shattenkirk will be out of the lineup for Game 1. Shattenkirk was placed in an unfamiliar spot this season, phasing in and out of the lineup throughout the year, but the 35-year-old has earned his place on the third pair.
That leaves Parker Wotherspoon and Mason Lohrei on the outside looking in on the blue line, but either could be called upon at the drop of a hat if necessary.
5. Injuries
The Bruins have their lineup for the postseason, but further reinforcements could be on the way.
Despite essentially being ruled out for the season, Derek Forbort (undisclosed) has battled back to the point where he played with AHL Providence on Friday in a rehab assignment. Brazeau (upper body) also skated prior to Boston’s practice on Friday.
Getting either back in the fold would be huge for the Bruins’ depth, which will be tested the longer they stick around in the playoffs, but neither is expected back soon.
Brazeau is still considered week-to-week, and Sweeney said it’s “very, very unlikely” he returns in the early part of the series against Toronto.
As for Forbort: “Derek has made great strides, and a little bit surprisingly, to tell you the truth,” Sweeney said. “He was on the operating table not too long ago. … He could’ve just, arguably, shut things down completely, but he wants to play. He’s a gamer, and he wants to play, and he wants to see whether or not the healing process will continue and he becomes a factor at some point in time during the playoffs.”
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