Matt Grzelcyk had a lot to process going into the 2018-19 season.
Entering his second go-around with the Bruins after inking a two-year deal in July, Grzelcyk entered training camp without an entrenched starting role — with regular minutes complicated by the addition of another left-shot D in John Moore.
What suddenly became a preseason fighting for minutes was then flipped on its head once Torey Krug went down with an ankle injury — paving the way for a puck-moving blueliner like Grzelcyk to take over the point on the B’s top power-play unit.
No easy task, given the production Krug harnessed as the quarterback of Boston’s man advantage.
Through three games, Grzelcyk very much looked like a player adjusting to a larger role at the highest level of competition.
Grzelcyk was held off the scoresheet to open the season while getting tagged for three giveaways in the first period of Monday’s home opener against Ottawa. He finished with 24 takeaways for all of last season.
Still, as Grzelcyk looked to find his footing, Brad Marchand remained confident in the 24-year-old defenseman — who emerged as one of the team’s most reliable defensemen last year following a November call-up.
“He’s been awesome this year,” Marchand said Thursday morning of Grzelcyk. “Very poised back there, makes good plays. Doesn’t try to do too much. He’s done well so far. The more we play together, the more comfortable we get.”
Patrolling the blue line on the B’s power play Thursday night, the Charlestown native looked awfully comfortable in his new role.
In what was a 4-1 win over the Oilers highlighted by another dominant showing from the B’s big guns in David Pastrnak and Marchand, it was the unassuming Grzlecyk who arguably gave his club the most optimism for what this team could be down the road — recording a pair of helpers on the power play while shutting down a potent Edmonton line anchored by Leon Draisaitl.
“I think it’s maybe taking maybe a little longer than I’d like, the first few games,” Grzelcyk said of adjusting to more responsibility following Krug’s injury. “But I felt comfortable tonight and hopefully (I can) keep building on that and keep coming into games with confidence and try to play with my head up as best I can.”
Logging 18:57 of ice time — including 3:39 on the power play — Grzelcyk recorded the lone assist on Pastrnak’s highlight-reel strike at 9:20, pinching up from the blue line and keeping a skittering puck in the Oilers’ zone, paving the way for Pastrnak to dangle the biscuit past Cam Talbot for the equalizer.
For a smaller defenseman like Grzelcyk (5-foot-9, 174 pounds) who relies on speed and elusiveness over brawn to make an impact at the NHL level, Bruce Cassidy’s message of encouraging D to jump up into the play when necessary has allowed the BU product to find his footing in today’s game.
“Yeah, I saw the puck kind of rim around and I knew I kind of had support behind me,” Grzelcyk said of his first helper. “That’s something we talk about a lot, even on 5-on-5, that we’re allowed to keep plays alive and keep teams hemmed in their own end. Especially 5-on-4, if we can keep pucks alive, it will tire out their guys.”
While Grzelcyk added another assist on Marchand’s first goal of the year at 14:37 in the first, the Charlestown native was not limited to poised play with an extra skater.
He doesn’t project as an imposing blueliner, but Grzelcyk’s ability to get the puck out of Boston’s zone in a hurry and push the transition game helped neutralize a stout Oilers trio in Draisaitl, Milan Lucic and Kailer Yamamoto.
In 5-on-5 play, Grzelcyk was matched up with the Draisaitl line for over seven minutes of time on ice (TOI) — including 8:01 when Lucic was out on the ice. During that time, the trio only managed one shot against the Bruins, while Boston managed to fire four shots against Edmonton during that time frame.
Grzelcyk’s strong showing comes as no surprise to his primary D-pairing partner in Kevan Miller, who also helped stymie a skilled Edmonton forward corps.
“I think with more games comes confidence,” Miller said of Grzelcyk. “As a young defenseman in the league, I think it takes a lot of games to find your game and what type of player you are. I think he’s more offensive than people give him credit. I think he can really make plays and he’s been so focused on his defensive game that he’s starting now to play offensively a little bit more and find those holes and skating through the neutral zone. I think you’ll continue to see that as his confidence grows.”
For as much flak as the B’s caught for their 7-0 trouncing against the Capitals (all of it still deserved), Boston’s defense has clamped down as of late, relinquishing just four goals in its past three matchups.
It’s all about the steady progression, says Grzelcyk. Both for the team as a whole and for his individual game, which could add another facet to an already intriguing Bruins’ blue line once the stakes are raised this spring.
“I think the less time you’re spending in your end, the better,” Grzelcyk said. “When we’re in our end, we’re doing a great job of separating guys and trying to get the puck going the other way. I think when we’re playing good transition hockey, it bodes well for us and it seems like we’re all moving our legs a little bit better and we have a little more confidence in the pucks. It’s something that we’re all mindful of going forward.”
