The Bruins obtained Nick Ritchie at the deadline for a reason.
That reason is now upon them and it’s up to Ritchie to prove that the faith the B’s placed in him – dealing a good, young player, Danton Heinen, for him – was not misplaced.
As expected, coach Bruce Cassidy put Ritchie back in the lineup for Sunday’s Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who themselves had bulked up last offseason and at the trade deadline after being bounced in the first round last year.
Ritchie was taken out of the lineup after Game 2 of the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that’s more fast than physical. The Bolts aren’t exactly slowpokes, of course, but they bring a nastier element than do the ‘Canes. Anders Bjork, who struggled when bumped to the top line in the absence of David Pastrnak and sat for Game 5, will also be back in. He and Ritchie will skate on the third line as Charlie Coyle‘s wings.
“Ritchie, we expect to be a little better on the walls. Obviously with how active the D are for Tampa, as much in the O-zone as anywhere, he has to be aware in his coverage in D zone. Getting inside. Charlie is a good puck protection guy, can separate. Hopefully, Nick can learn to find those soft spots in the O-zone, preferably around the net. Sometimes you can’t always just park yourself in the crease. If plays die, then you’re the last guy out of the zone. But slot and net front,” said Cassidy.
“And with Anders, it’s capitalizing on some opportunities. Obviously he’s had a few. Just have a consistent game. Hound pucks. Be a good complimentary player for those guys off the rush. He can certainly get inside ice on his off-wing. And obviously, defensively, like everyone on our team, he has to be accountable and block a shot when it’s your turn to block a shot. Get the clear when it’s your turn to get the clear. Skate it out when the opportunity is there. We’ll see how they do.”
Cassidy has other options if this doesn’t work out. Sean Kuraly could move up to play third-line left wing and there’s been no dropoff in play of the fourth line with Par Lindholm playing in the middle there. Bjork could be swapped for Jack Studnicka as he was for Game 5….
The Bruins took care of a little bit of business last night by signing goalie Daniel Vladar to a three-year contract extension. With an annual cap hit of $750,000, the first two years are a two-way deal and the third is a one-way contract, meaning he’ll be guaranteed the NHL salary in the third year.
A little fresh air
Brad Marchand considered the Bruins fortunate to be housed at Hotel X in Toronto, which allowed for some outdoor meandering at BMO Field next door, as opposed to the tighter confines of the Royal York, just a few blocks from Scotiabank Arena in the dense downtown. Bubble fatigue is a real thing, but he knows others have it worse.
“We just have to enjoy the time we have here at Hotel X. If we make it out to Edmonton, the situation’s going to get worse mentally,” said Marchand. “But I think for us, we’ve made a commitment to each other and the group to come here. We’re all sacrificing to be here, so I think the drive is there to want to make it all worth it. When you get on the ice, you want to win because otherwise this whole thing is for nothing. There’s no point in being stuck in this bubble for this amount of time and potentially another couple of weeks and another month if you’re not going to win. So I think that’s going to drive you even more to want to win and compete and sacrifice for each other. But the hotel situation here is not bad. The toughest part is being away from the family, which will be long and daunting. But again, if you win, the sacrifice is worth it and the families are going to enjoy all of that. It’ll be worth it if we win. So it’s that fear of losing that drains you mentally and being away from the family. But, again, we’re grateful for the opportunity we have here, because there are a lot of people out there now that aren’t able to do the things that they love and can’t work and losing jobs and homes and businesses, so the sacrifices that we’re making, it’s worth it to be here and we’re lucky to be able to do what we love and have the opportunity to play for the Cup.”
Naivety has a plus
The B’s still have four players left from their 2011 Cup win: Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Zdeno Chara.
Marchand said that experience can help in understanding big turning points in games or series, as well as being able to handle being in the opposition’s rink and city, which does not come in to play in the current situation.
But being young and dumb can help sometimes, too.
“Being through it, there are some games where my nerves are through the roof. I was almost sick to my stomach and you’ve got to go out and play your best because it’s one of the biggest games. But it’s different here, it’s a different situation,” said Marchand. “But I think (experience) just allows guys to be comfortable in situations. When you have young guys, maybe they don’t understand how big a game is or how big a turning point can be in a series, if you’re up or down a couple of games and you let a game slip. I think if you haven’t been through something, you can take situations for granted, closing out series and how important that is. There’s a lot of situations where experiences goes a long way. But also being naive to those situations can help, too. In my first year, we won (the Cup) and I didn’t really truly understand how big some of those games were, so I just went out and played and I played good. If I would have truly understood how big a game it was and what these games meant, I probably wouldn’t have had the same mindset of just going out and playing. I would have been nervous about what could happen and what the outcome could be. There’s pros and cons to both, but the biggest things is you can’t overthink it. You have to go out and play your game and the teams that play the best are going to win.”
Playing the hand dealt
When bubble competition began, top worries were rustiness and bad, summer ice. The rust has been kicked off, and the talk of bad ice has dissipated. Cassidy believes the players have simply dealt with the conditions as best they can.
“Players have just adjusted,” said Cassidy. “To be honest, they’d have to answer that but from the bench standpoint, it always looks nice and crisp coming out of periods or at the start of the game. But I know it does get a little heavy as it goes on. Not as good as typically it would be during the year. Now this may change a bit – it’s still warm here — if it gets a little cooler outside, I noticed one day it cooled off here and I think everything was a little bit crisper on the ice. I don’t know if that should matter but it seems to.”
The Link LonkAugust 24, 2020 at 01:48AM
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Bruins beef up for Bolts - Boston Herald
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