We are about to search out out who the 2023-24 Bruins actually are.
After opening the season with seven straight Western Conference opponents – and presumed lesser lights at that – 10 of their subsequent 12 video games will probably be in opposition to Atlantic Division foes, beginning with the much-improved Detroit Red Wings on the Garden on Saturday.
The B’s id will quickly turning into into focus.
“We need to find out,” stated coach coach Jim Montgomery after Friday’s apply. “We’ve got three real good teams coming in (Florida is in on Monday and then Toronto on Thursday) and we’ll see where we stand in our division. We’ve had a good start to the year and I think our division is really strong, really competitive all the way top to bottom. It’s going to be a good test coming up for us and it starts (Saturday).”
Detroit arguably represents probably the most intriguing opponent. The once-proud Wings have missed the playoffs seven straight seasons however they’ve began sizzling at 5-2-1. Led by huge free agent acquisition Alex DeBrincat (9 objectives), they’re second within the league in objectives scored at 4.38 objectives per recreation and can go in opposition to the stingiest crew within the league to date (1.57 GAA). The B’s are 6-0-1, with the one blemish being the large honking zit of a loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. The B’s had not allowed greater than two objectives in any of the six video games earlier than that.
If the Wings are to finish their doubtful run as a playoff have-not, they are going to little question have their sights units on a crew just like the B’s, one of many Atlantic Division haves.
“These are the games we hope we’re going to play at the end of the year and these are the fun games,” stated Hampus Lindholm. “We have a really strong division and there’ll be some really fun games coming up here. I think all the guys are super excited.”
There is actually nobody within the division who’s a pushover. Even the still-rebuilding Montreal Canadiens, whom the B’s will see twice in November, have began the season 4-2-1. These subsequent dozen video games will go a great distance towards deciding how the playoff race shapes up.
“ You want to create some separation within the division and we’re all well aware of how good the opponents are and we want to make sure we want to start on the right foot,” stated Matt Grzelcyk.
“It’s a bit of a measuring stick. If you want to make the playoffs, you put yourself in the best situation going in, you’ve got to create some separation from the next few teams, especially Detroit, they’re up and coming and they have a lot to prove. We want to make sure that we’re playing well at home and avenge that loss from (Thursday) night.”
Welcome, Matt
Grzelcyk, who had not been a daily contributor on the penalty kill in his profession, has been seeing a while on the PK this 12 months. He’s not precisely been a workhorse like Derek Forbort or Brandon Carlo, however he’s averaging 1:11 of shorthanded ice time.
Montgomery’s causes for using Grzelcyk there are two-fold. First, he thinks it helps to maintain him concerned within the recreation (Grzelcyk’s not on both energy play unit). Secondly, the coach thinks he’s good at it.
“We think the way we kill now, being able to use your feet is more important than blocking shots. His brain is high end, his ability to defend is high end and his reads are high end. So he should (do well),” stated Montgomery. “And he’s doing it. We’ve seen it. We told him last year to work on it in practice and he’s carried that over to this year and he’s really helping us on our PK.”
Grzelcyk have to be doing one thing proper. Having killed 29-of-30 penalties, the B’s lead the league on the PK.
“You have to know your strengths,” stated Grzelcyk. “I’m trying to anticipate the play more and make reads. I think our penalty kill is best in general when we’re being aggressive and reading plays before they can develop. I’m not going to be boxing too many guys out in front of the net and I know that. So if they get the puck on the half wall, maybe I’m a step quicker than normal. I know I’m going to be out there against the second unit so they’re going trying to get pucks from those areas, so I’m just trying to close plays as quick as I can.”
The Wings are available in with the second-ranked PP at 38.7%.
Zero affect?
Lindholm is just not having the identical begin to the season he did final 12 months. He has but to provide a degree and he was on the ice for all 4 objectives in opposition to within the 4-3 additional time loss to Anaheim.
But Montgomery believes he’s taking part in higher than stats would point out.
“I think Hampus is playing really well,” stated Montgomery. “I look at the two previous games to (Thursday) night, he’s had an abundance of chances. He had a great chance in the first period. He’s too good of a player, too much of an impact player in this league, he’s an elite player. If he keeps putting himself in those situations, he’s going to have success. It’s a small sample size right now….Offensively, he’s a lot better than what he’s showing now, but it’s coming. And we see it in how dominant he is. He’s still defending really well. I know he was a minus-4 (Thursday) but to me those are one-offs, with how much he’s helping us win. You can just look at our goals against and he has a huge impact on that.”
The easy-going Lindholm wasn’t overly involved in regards to the goose egg subsequent to his identify.
“I feel like I’ve been creating some good chances, even (Thursday) I hit a post,” stated Lindholm. “It’s a long year. Obviously (Thursday) sucked a little bit more because of the way we lost the game. Putting one of those in there probably would have made us win the hockey game. Those are the ones that sting a little bit. But I just have to keep harping on it and those will come.”
Loose pucks
Brad Marchand didn’t apply on Friday however Montgomery stated it was only a upkeep day and he’ll be good to go in opposition to the Wings. … The B’s made a a number of transactions that look like of the paper selection as they appear to save lots of pennies in opposition to the wage cap. Forwards Jesper Boqvist and Patrick Brown to Providence, whereas defensemen Jakub Zboril and Mason Lohrei have been recalled. Some additional machinations are anticipated Saturday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com