NHL Notebook: If Boston splits up top line, who’s going where? taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

Bruins

NHL Notebook: If Boston splits up top line, who’s going where?

By Conor Ryan

Nov 4, 2018 • 10:43 am

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If this 2018-19 Boston Bruins team was firing on all cylinders, Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t even have to deal with the conundrum of splitting up his top forward line — a trio that has posted a goal differential of plus-13 and a Corsi For Percentage of 58.85 at five-on-five play dating back to the start of last year.

But with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak accounting for 22 of the Bruins' 37 goals to open the season, Boston’s coaching staff is weighing every option to solve the team's secondary scoring woes — a recurring trend that became a fatal flaw in last season’s playoff exit against a deep Lightning squad.

Slowly but surely, Cassidy has shuffled up his lines when necessary following a prolonged scoring drought — usually flipping Pastrnak down to David Krejci’s line and installing a revolving door on the right side of Bergeron.

Pastrnak has the speed and skill to do some damage on a line with Krejci, with the B’s holding a 21-12 edge in high-danger scoring chances last season whenever the duo was out on the ice last year during 5v5 — all in just over 80 minutes of TOI.

But who joins the top dogs in Bergeron and Marchand? Cassidy elaborated on a few of the options available for the Bruins on Friday.



Jake DeBrusk

Given his chemistry with Krejci and some encouraging possession stats (54.90 CF%), you’d think that DeBrusk would be a shoo-in to remain on the second line, but the second-year winger had some looks on the Bergeron line against Carolina, being out on the ice for a goal-for in Tuesday’s win.

For Cassidy, the decision to give DeBrusk a chance on the top line was based on two factors — Danton Heinen’s play with Pastrnak and a skill set from DeBrusk that can be utilized with players like Bergeron and Marchand.

“I thought Danton made a nice play to Pasta off the draw,” Cassidy said of his revamped second line on Tuesday. “You could see there was going to be some chemistry. Bergy and Marchy will play well no matter what. I like Jake there, because he's got some of Pasta's speed and the ability to get in and make plays. He's finished in this league. That's the easiest switch without upsetting all of the other lines.”

Anders Bjork

While the 22-year-old winger hasn’t earned many reps up top this season with the Black and Gold, let’s not forget that Bjork skated on the Bergeron line to open the 2017-18 season — and was pretty good!

To be fair, when you’re paired with two dynamic, puck-possessing fiends in Bergeron and Marchand, your numbers are going to look great. But as a line, Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork skated in 12 games together last season, posting a 60.58 CF% and averaging 4.46 goals for over 60 minutes.

He’s been all over the B’s lineup so far this season, but look for Bjork to get a couple of looks up top if Cassidy continues to tinker with his roster.

Danton Heinen

If you’re looking to round out the Bergeron line with another 200-foot skater, Heinen might be the most seasoned out of Boston’s younger crop of forwards. While he may not have the flashiest game and hasn’t produced consistently so far this year (three assists over 11 games), Cassidy noted that Heinen has been able to earn consistent minutes over the last couple of weeks due to his responsibility in all three zones.

Let’s also not discount Heinen's potential as a viable scorer, as he ranked ninth amongst all NHL rookies last season while primarily playing alongside Riley Nash and David Backes.

“The details, obviously Jake and Danton are a little quicker, so being first on pucks on the forecheck and again, sometimes it's better as the second guy,” Cassidy said. “So that's not always easy to do. The game goes quickly and once it's your turn to be F1, you’re F1. ... Where I like about Danton a lot is his knowledge away from the puck in his own end. I think it's very good, it's allowed him to stay in the lineup. That's where we're working on Anders and Jake a little more.”

Joakim Nordstrom

Boston’s Swiss (or Swedish?) Army Knife has played just about everywhere for the Black and Gold so far this season, even on Bergeron’s right side at one point during Tuesday’s game against Carolina.

Nordstrom was signed to be a bottom-six contributor on this B’s club, and that’s where you’d expect him to remain. However, Cassidy did note that he’s not afraid to slot up a third and fourth liner if necessary to give his forwards a jolt.

Based on Cassidy’s comments, it seems like the next man up for any switch up top is DeBrusk, although I could see Bjork getting a look if he starts stringing together some good performances (which can be tough on a mismatched third line).

"I think we used Nordy a little bit. … (Chris) Wagner, just to add a little presence to go to the net," Cassidy said. "At that point, when Wagner was there, I was a little perturbed with a couple of the other guys. It was more about, 'Hey he's playing hard, we'll throw him a bone and throw him up on the line.' But I'd say Jake is probably would be a good fit there. Because that's some of the qualities that Pasta has brought to the line."

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B’s recall essential role of street hockey


With the Bruins and the City of Boston
earlier this week, numerous members of the Black and Gold dished on their experiences battling neighbors and rival blocks in street hockey scrimmages growing up.


The general consensus? The O’Ree rink, with full benches and boards, is a much better layout than what most of the Bruins had to deal with in their youth.


Patrice Bergeron: “
That's basically my childhood in a nutshell.  Coming back from school and even in the summertime, we'd play street hockey — it didn't really matter. This is amazing right here, right now. I wish we had that — Willie was saying that. Same for me, I wish we had something like this growing. But yeah, it definitely brings back a lot of memories.


“(In) the winter, it was nice because we'd have some boards with all the snow that was getting plowed. So that was helpful. … It was a pretty quiet street, so it didn't matter as far as cars and stuff, so it was kind of quiet.”


Bruins president Cam Neely: “
We didn't have this. Cars would be coming and you have to move the net. But to get the kids out and being active — if they can't skate, they don't have opportunities to skate, we all know how expensive the ice hockey sport is.”


Bruce Cassidy:
"Every day, I was on the street. In Coldrey Avenue in Ottawa. … I always pulled together a new net at Christmas. My brother was a year and a half older, he was the goalie, thank god, and I had to drag all of his crap up from the basement. That was the deal.


“We played all the time. In the winter, some of the street would freeze every once in a while or snow over, so the nets would be the boulders of snow. In the summer, we’d have the real nets out there. … We’d play against different streets in the neighborhood. We’d have 8-10 kids on our team.


“I don’t see it as much here anymore. In New England, I see the nets in the driveways. I see a lot of that, I don’t see a lot of actual games. Maybe I’m not driving down dead-end streets enough. I was encouraged when I moved here, there was a net in almost every other driveway.”

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Jake DeBrusk expects Ryan Donato to benefit from AHL stint


He hasn’t had to deal with a demotion to the AHL since earning a roster spot with Boston, but
Jake DeBrusk
knows firsthand what playing for the Providence Bruins can do for a young player in terms of building confidence.


In 2016-17, DeBrusk spent an entire season down with the Baby Bruins, tallying 19 goals and posting 49 points over 74 games while learning the ropes of pro hockey.


While every promising skater dreaming of NHL stardom often wants to leapfrog over time spent in the AHL —
Ryan Donato
is just the latest B’s prospect sent down for some seasoning, with the winger looking to get back on track after tallying one power-play goal over 11 games played.


It may not be the development that Donato was hoping for this season after a strong debut in 2017-18, but DeBrusk was quick to point out that the AHL avenue is great way for a slumping player to get refocused and back on track.


"It's obviously not something that you want,” DeBrusk said. “Personally, I've never been sent down as of yet, knock on wood. But I mean, it's obviously something that I talked to him when he was scratched and I kind of understand that. But playing in Providence was really good for me.


"I played a whole year there and it was good development. I think everyone here, especially the young guys, including
Charlie (McAvoy)
, has played in Providence at some point. Obviously, he's going to go down there and become really hungry and try to do everything he can to get back up. ... The biggest thing I find in the NHL is confidence. If you lose confidence, it keeps kind of deteriorating. It happened to me when I got scratched last year. Nothing really good happens and you've got to find that switch through yourself and I have no doubt that he will.”


Through two games with the P-Bruins, Donato has notched an assist while firing seven shots on goal.

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