Game Day Notes: Cleaning up the defensive zone a priority for the Bruins

The Boston Bruins have been relied too much on goaltending the last two games. One resulted in a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, before the Bruins squeaked out a 5-3 win over the Devils on Sunday.

Coach Bruce Cassidy didn't have to re-watch those games to know that the team's slot coverage, plays that begin below the goal line, puck management, communication between the defensemen and making sure the center isn't late getting back are all areas that need to improve. All those aspects were spot-on during the Bruins' recent string of success and Cassidy has stressed to the players that it needs to be cleaned up before bad habits begin to exist on a consistent basis.

Breakdowns in the neutral zone have led to plenty of odd-man rushes in the last two games, which is the reason why both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin have had to make plenty of timely saves.

"Definitely, from below the goal line our play needs to get better," Cassidy said. "Our layers have broken down at times, more so than earlier in the year."



While the breakout is a separate issue, it's also another area Cassidy has focused on. Earlier, the Bruins were effective with quickly moving the puck out of the zone with one pass and going on the attack. Opponents have made adjustments and have done a better job closing down the neutral zone on the Bruins.

"I always talk about the four guys away from the puck. The harder they work to get open, the easier it is for everybody," explained Cassidy. "Our skill level for each individual generally is what it is and you work on it through the course of the year, but you're not going to become a passer tomorrow."

Defensemen Brandon Carlo, Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid have all worked on making better first passes.

"In general, they can become effective if the other four guys are working," Cassidy said. "Then (defensemen) have to make the right decision. We're constantly asking players to improve their skills, but those are things that don't happen overnight, but puck support certainly can and we're re-emphasizing that."

Pay attention when the Bruins host the Calgary Flames tonight at TD Garden and focus on how many times Boston effectively breaks out of its own end on one pass. Then, how many times a quick-up pass through the neutral zone allows a clean O-zone entry. Willing to bet it's a lot better tonight than it has been the last two games for the Bruins.

Masked man: Rask will start against the Flames. Overall, he's 22-9-4 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in 36 games this season. Since the Flames have a 16-6-5 road record this season, it helps that Rask has a career 4-1-0 mark, along with two shutouts a 1.61 GAA and a .940 SP in seven games against Calgary.

Injury update: Miller was on the ice again in a red, no-contact and will not return tonight, according to Cassidy. Miller has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury, but will travel with the team on its next five-game road trip and it's possible he could return on Saturday at Vancouver.

Old school: Prior to tonight's game, the Bruins will honor the 40^th anniversary of the organization’s 11, 20-goal scorers from 1977-78. It’s still an NHL record and one that likely won’t ever be broken. The 11 players to score at least 20 goals include: Terry O’Reilly (29 goals), Jean Ratelle (25), Peter McNab (41), Brad Park (22), Wayne Cashman (24), Rick Middleton(25), Gregg Sheppard (23), Bobby Schmautz (27), Don Marcotte (20), Stan Jonathan (27) and Bob Miller (20).

Along with coach Don Cherry, Jonathan, Marcotte, McNab, Middleton, Miller, O'Reilly, Park, Ratelle, Schmautz and Sheppard will be in attendance.

Cassidy has been a life-long Bruins fans and he's like a kid in a candy store anytime a former player visits a practice or attends a game.

"It's great to see them," Cassidy said.

Here are the projected line combinations and defensive pairings vs. the Flames. 

Forwards

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Spooner
Heinen-Nash-Backes
Schaller-Kuraly-Acciari

Defense

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-McQuaid

Goalies

Rask

Khudobin