Even after capturing points in three of their past four road games, it’s becoming evident that a patchwork Bruins roster is going to have to take its fair share of punches against the opposition — especially with four of the club’s Opening Night defensemen out of commission.
Despite surrendering just five goals over the past three games, Boston has often found itself on the wrong side of some telling statistics — with the Black and Gold outshot and out-attempted in two of their last three matchups against Dallas and Arizona.
The one game in which they outshot and out-attempted the opponent? The B’s were still edged, 25-19, in scoring chances during five-on-five play against the Red Wings on Wednesday, even though Detroit landed nine fewer shots on goal.
Losing the possession game and surrendering Grade-A chances may not be as costly against teams (Dallas, Arizona, Detroit) thank rank no higher than 24th in the league in scoring, but the high-powered offense of Pittsburgh Penguins will not be as forgiving.
Sure, Boston’s opponent on Friday might sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings due to inconsistent goaltending, but the Pens are still a dynamic club with players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang in tow — ranking fifth in the league in goals per game at 3.45.
As Boston tries to shore up the vacancies left by stalwarts such as Patrice Bergeron (rib/clavicle) and Zdeno Chara (MCL), Bruce Cassidy’s latest lineup shuffle could see some of the the Bruins’ younger reinforcements get significant reps against a Penguins club that can easily put a game out of reach with a couple of rookie mistakes.
While Friday’s matchup will see Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak reunited on the top line, the man in the middle will be Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, with the 22-year-old’s eighth career NHL game featuring a likely matchup against a line anchored by either Crosby or Malkin — two surefire Hall of Famers.
No pressure.
And while Cassidy noted ahead of Wednesday’s tilt with Detroit that the Bruins were hesitant of promoting “JFK” from his usual spot on the third line because ‘he's got his hands full where he is,’ that sentiment quickly changed once the game got underway — with Forsbacka Karlsson scoring his second goal in as many games while earning some reps with Marchand (3:40 TOI together).
While Forsbacka Karlsson’s offensive game is starting to round into form up at the NHL level, the biggest lift that he can provide this club is his established 200-foot-game — which will come in handy as Boston looks to stymie a loaded top-six group for Pittsburgh.
“He had his hands full with where he was and he responded well,” Cassidy said of Forsbacka Karlsson. “So today, we're going to move him up. Part of that is that we're at home, so you can control the matchup a little bit. And he might get a great one, there's not too many weaknesses in the other team.
“But it's also his response, I thought he was really good when we moved him up in Detroit. Played hard, literally broke two or three teeth and kept on playing. I thought he skated well. The main message with JFK was that if you're skating, everything will fall into place. He's a very good skater. The battles will find him. He'll make his plays, because he's moving.”
Boston will insert another younger pivot into the lineup on Friday, with Colby Cave expected to center the third line alongside Noel Acciari and Joakim Nordstrom.
Even though Cave seems to have turned a corner with his playmaking ability down in Providence (18 points in 15 games this year), Cassidy once again referenced the lift of adding another two-way player in the lineup to combat the Penguins, while Cave’s addition will also free up Nordstrom to retrieve pucks and force turnovers — key facets of the game in terms of building steady possession.
"Well, judging on his (AHL) statistics, obviously he's grown his offensive game,” Cassidy said of Cave. “I think we always thought there was something there. ... I think he'll never lose his 200-foot ability, he's a smart player, playing without the puck. Question mark we always had here was if the pace of the game going to get to him if he plays extended minutes? I thought he played well for us in the past when we asked.
“He knocked (Aleksander) Barkvov out with a nice clean check (last year), so he's got it in him to play hard. ... Three, four years in, let's get after it, no more nerves. You never know how many chances you're going to get in this game.”
Colby Cave hit on Barkov: pic.twitter.com/sZwZAtQLGk
— Cats On The Prowl (@Cats0ntheprowl) April 6, 2018