With Bergeron out, can Colby Cave stop the revolving door at 1st-line center?

TORONTO — In the midst of his second NHL call up and sixth career game with the Black and Gold, Colby Cave knew what to expect when the B’s coaching staff approached him at the end of first intermission on Monday. 

A smart, two-way pivot benefiting from a career year down in Providence, Cave is looking to stay as long as possible up with the big club — so any advice or notes from Bruce Cassidy and Co. were much appreciated.

But this wasn’t an impromptu workshop about his approach at faceoffs, nor was it an assessment of his play on the fourth line. Rather, it was a promotion.

For the final two periods of Monday’s matchup against the Maple Leafs, Cave was the man in the middle on Boston’s top forward line alongside Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as the next man vying to fill the vacancy left by an injured Patrice Bergeron.

Boasting a little over 28 minutes of TOI through seven-plus periods of play, the small sample size was apparently enough to warrant Cave’s promotion — even if the prospect of lining up with two All-Stars seemed like a scenario saved for only the most vivid of daydreams for a forward that only averaged 32 points over his last three seasons with the Baby Bruins.

“You’re going to be a little bit shocked, obviously, at the start,” Cave said of the promotion. “But I just want to go out there and play the same way. If I get away from my game, I think I bring the other two guys down. There was a reason they called me up with those two guys, and I tried my best to win every faceoff that I got out there for and get Marchy and Pasta the puck. They’re pretty good with it.”

To be fair, Cave’s leap up in the depth chart was a move bought on more by necessity than anything else.

While David Krejci (10 assists in 11 games) and Jake DeBrusk (seven goals, nine assists in 11 games) have kept the gears of Boston’s offensive attack turning in wake of Bergeron’s rib/clavicle injury, the same couldn’t be said for the other skaters on Boston’s imposing top line.

Without their pivot, Marchand and Pastrnak appeared rudderless at times, with the duo only combining for one assist in their previous three games. Once holding a five-goal lead in the race for most tallies in the NHL, Pastrnak’s strong shot failed to find twine as of late, with No. 88’s last score coming back on Nov. 11 against Colorado.

The start of Monday’s game was more of the same from a slumping top line, as 22-year-old center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson failed to provide much of a spark in front, even with his profile as a two-way pivot with a propensity to elevate his game with skill on his wing.

But for the fourth game in a row, “JFK” struggled at the dot — ending the contest with a faceoff win percentage under 40 percent (28.6 percent) and putting both Pastrnak and Marchand on the wrong side of the possession game.

By the end of 20 minutes —  a stanza in which Boston was edged in scoring chances and down a goal — Cassidy opted to make a switch, propping Cave up top and placing Forsbacka Karlsson on the third line with Anders Bjork and Noel Acciari — a trio that averaged a hair over 10 minutes of ice time in the loss.

Once hesitant to bump up Forsbacka Karlsson into a top-six role given his tendency to be timid at times with his play, Cassidy noted JFK’s last two primary assignments in Sidney Crosby and John Tavares are tall tasks for a green forward to handle, especially when added to the responsibility of waking up a dormant line with Marchand and Pastrnak.

“I didn’t like his compete (Monday),” Cassidy said of Forsbacka Karlsson. “We’ve talked about this. He needs to bring it every night. If he’s going to play with those guys ... it was Crosby, it’s Tavares. It’s a big ask. I’ve said it too, we weren’t sure if he was ready to move up. (But) we saw something we liked (and) we moved him up.

“(Monday), we didn’t see as much of it, and moved Colby up. JFK being little more comfortable down at third-line center. Going forward, until we get Bergy back, it’s a work in progress. I thought Cave responded well. It’s his opportunity. He wants to take advantage of it, and he’s doing whatever he can.”

Cave hasn’t been an offensive dynamo since getting called up from Providence, but his two-way play and attention to detail put him in the good graces of the B‘s coaching staff. Whereas “JFK” struggled to win draws, Cave averaged an impressive win percentage of 69 percent over his first two games of the season.

And while that number dipped a bit to 43.8 percent on Monday, Cave fit in rather seamlessly in his new role as Boston’s go-to pivot.

While Pastrnak snapped his scoring slump with a pair of goals in Monday’s loss, Cave was refined and collected against a Leafs team that can pounce on mistakes and put an opposing club in a hole quickly.

Possession was largely in favor of the Black and Gold whenever Cave was out on the ice, with Boston holding a commanding 26-15 edge in attempts over Cave’s 14:58 of TOI during five-on-five play. Shots for during that same stretch also favored Boston at 12-8, with both of Cave’s attempts on Frederik Andersen coming in high-danger areas within 25 feet of the Leafs’ net, along with a wrister from the high slot that clanged off the goalpost.



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Never much of an dynamic scorer during his career in Providence, Cave would be the first to tell you he’s turned the corner in his offensive game this season — with the center leading Providence with 18 points through 15 games this season. (His previous career high in the AHL was 35 points over a much larger sample size of 76 games in 2016-17)

“I had a good exit meeting when I got sent down to Providence,” Cave said. “The coaches said to just go down there and play your game, get some confidence. We actually had some injuries down in Providence too, so I think just finding my offensive game down there definitely helped, and I just want to come up here and play the same way.”

Cave’s offensive game might be a bit underrated, but there’s no denying the 23-year-old center’s B game can be enough for him to be a suitable stopgap with Bergeron out, especially given his showing on Monday.

Cave’s top matchups up front featured some of the Leafs’ big guns in Tavares (7:49 5v5 TOI together), Mitch Marner (7:42) and Zach Hyman (7:22), with Boston holding a 16-9 lead in attempts whenever Cave was out on the ice with Toronto’s top center.

That’s pretty damn good for Cave (64.00 CF percent), given the fact that he started the contest on the fourth line.

Given the reawakening of Pastrnak up front, it would seem likely that Cave would get another spin on the top line for Thursday’s matchup with the Islanders, with the young center looking forward to getting another chance to pot his first career NHL goal.

Usually relegated to a bottom-six role, points on the board suddenly become much more tangible when you have guys like Pastrnak and Marchand feeding you the biscuit.

“They’re two world-class players,” Cave said. “I’m just trying to go out there and help my linemates, no matter who they are. It’s pretty cool lining up with those guys. You know they’re going to find you, wherever you are, so all the nerves should be out. And like I said, I’m just trying to hop into the lineup and help the team win -- and with the injury bug kind of floating around, it’s guys like us that get called up here to help the team win.”

In the span of one hour, Cave went from fourth-line center to the man in between two wingers with a combined 51 points on the year. What will tomorrow bring - a front-office promotion?

“I’m good with just playing right now,” Cave said with a chuckle. “Next step is maybe burying one and helping the team offensively. Hopefully, it starts on Thursday.”