Bruce Cassidy likes the Kevan Miller and Charlie McAvoy defensive pairing.
Why wouldn’t he?
On the left side, you have the veteran Miller, who is a more defensive-minded player but isn’t afraid to jump into the action when the opportunity presents itself. His style of play complements McAvoy well because of the rookie’s ability to control the puck and the play.
No doubt the expected regular-season pairings of Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo, Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid and Miller-McAvoy could change, but overall it’s a solid core. McAvoy was impressive during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season and he looks confident and comfortable during his first NHL camp.
“He’s very confident with the puck,” Miller said. “He sees the ice really well and skates really well. He’s got all the attributes to be a serious player in this league.”
Speaking with various coaches, there are different views as to what makes an effective defensive pair.
Based on Cassidy’s style of up-tempo play, there are advantages of having two offensive-minded defensemen on the ice at the same time to help push the pace. However, you don’t want to be too reckless and have breakdowns that allow the opposition to create odd-man rushes.
Some believe having Krug and McAvoy as a pair would add a potent weapon to the offense, while others think McAvoy would be better with either Miller or Chara.
Either way, McAvoy’s prepared to play with anyone.
“Kevan’s obviously a veteran player. He’s an awesome guy to play with,” McAvoy said. “He’s such a good defenseman, such a good defender. It’s only the first couple of days of training camp, so you’re trying to get your game back. It’s going to be a process to get back into game form. Watching some of Kevan’s tendencies help me a lot to continue to get my defensive game back.
“He’s got a great stick and reads the play well, so he’s somebody I can learn a lot from as we continue to play together.”
It also helps that their styles are different.
“It’s nice to know that you have a guy who’s responsible like that to be back, and I hope he feels the same way when he jumps,” McAvoy said. “Whether it’s a game or practice, there are times when it presents itself that you can get up there and try to contribute and play the offensive side. I think I do a good job of covering him and I know he’ll be there for me if I jump up.”
Here are other notes from Day 3
- The preseason schedule begins Monday when the Bruins face the Montreal Canadiens at Videotron Centre on Monday in Quebec. Each player has a different philosophy on how many preseason games they want to play in order to prepare for the regular season. Veteran forward David Backes said he prefers three or four games. Most of the players expected to be on the opening-night roster also like to play one of the last two exhibition games.
- Cassidy did not announce the lineup for the first preseason game but he did say Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre will be the goalies. Cassidy also said most of the younger players in camp will make the trip.
- With Day 3 of training camp in the books, management will begin to slim the overall roster on Wednesday. The P-Bruins begin camp on Monday, so some of those players will likely remain at main camp in order to stay sharp.
- The days of enjoying endless fisticuffs during preseason games are history. The decrease in fighting well documented but many players believe it’s still a part of the game during the regular season. “There’s never a point where you’re not going to have to,” Miller said. “It’s part of the game. If they get rid of it hockey will never be the same. That’s the nature of it, and maybe there’s less opportunity, but it’s still there and it’s still part of my job to answer the bell when that happens.”
- McIntyre had a better day during the morning session. He turned in the save of the day when he robbed Brad Marchand of a would-be goal with a spectacular glove save. It was during a 3-on-2 drill when Anders Bjork made a nifty pass to a wide open Marchand. McIntyre sprawled out and made the stop.
- The one aspect of such a high-tempo practice to be aware of are bodies flying all over the ice. Players are crashing and banging and that can result in some serious collisions, which we’ve seen in every practice during training camp.
- It’s only a preseason game on Monday in Quebec, but it will be the first time the Bruins will face the Canadiens with Claude Julien as their coach. “I didn’t even think about that until right now,” said Matt Beleskey. “It’ll be fun to see him across there.”
- Watching David Krejci and David Pastrnak compete in 3-on-3 drills is highly entertaining.