OTTAWA – Bruce Cassidy posted a virtual “Help Wanted” sign on the dressing room door. He had no choice.
Brad Marchand began his five-game suspension Thursday night, and Charlie McAvoy remains at home after undergoing a minor procedure earlier this week to treat an abnormal heart rhythm. With two of its best players sidelined, many wondered how the team would react.
Cassidy even admitted prior to Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre that there’s no one who can replace Marchand. It’s about filling those spots as best as possible during his self-inflicted hiatus. After all, he’s a key component one the best line in the NHL, along with Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
So, Anders Bjork got the call from Providence and started the game on Boston’s top line, but early in the second period, Cassidy tweaked the lines and flip-flopped Bjork and Danton Heinen. The coach admitted he spoke with both players prior to the game about that possibility.
“It was going to be a tough ask for Anders,” Cassidy said.
It was, and Bjork admitted he was a bit slow to start.
“I think it went good,” Bjork said. “Personally, I was a little slow making plays, especially in the first period. But it’s so easy to play with these players. I improved a bit and hopefully, I’ll be able to continue to improve.”
Like any good coach, Cassidy went easy on Bjork and gave the rookie a solid game report.
“I thought he was good, to be honest,” Cassidy said. “Just being strong on pucks, he got stripped a couple times. We went through this with Heinen last year. I didn’t see Jake much, but I’d imagine he went through it in Providence, so it’s just part of the learning curve for these young guys that when you have it you better hang onto it, because these are men here and they want it back. I liked his game. He had good energy and wanted to go to the net. Away from the puck, he was trying to do the right thing, so good for him.”
In the first period, Bjork was too high in the offensive zone at times. At one point, Pastrnak drove the net and Bjork should’ve been there for the rebound, but he was late getting there and Senators goalie Mike Condon covered it.
Bjork wanted to keep his game simple, and that’s why he focused on defense first.
“Yeah, I wanted to be responsible, especially at the start and show the coaching staff and my teammates that I care about the details and want to be on the right side of pucks and be a responsible player,” Bjork said. “Defense was a focus of mine, but as the game went on, I tried to get in offensive and produce.”
It was a big difference once Cassidy made the switch and Heinen, who has the ability to play a top-six role, made an easy adjustment.
“Danton’s been here all year and he’s used to playing in those situations against top-end guys, so we decided to make a little switch,” Cassidy said. “I talked to them before the game about it, that we would probably do that. I wanted to keep as much continuity going into the game but in-game, we’d make those changes. We’re not going to have Marchy for four more games, so someone’s going to have to go up there. We may rotate, but we’d prefer to keep one guy if we could.”
It’s been eight games since Heinen last scored a goal and it started to weigh on him a little bit. It’s been evident that he’s been pressing, but he was relieved when he scored a power-play goal against the Senators, while replacing Marchand on the top power-play unit.
Danton Heinen sem deixar a peteca cair #NHLBruins #BrasilTemNHL pic.twitter.com/aoA0PvU6OZ
— Boston Bruins Brasil (@BrBostonBruins) January 26, 2018