SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It’s been three weeks since Sean Kuraly first had to don a “fishbowl” helmet, with the modified shield serving as the byproduct of a sharp uppercut by Senators defenseman Ben Harpur back on Dec. 9. And yet, even as recently as Tuesday’s matchup against the Blackhawks in the Winter Classic, the 25-year-old skater still found himself as a magnet for chirps in the B’s locker room.
“We joke that ever since he’s put the shield on, he’s been playing great hockey,” Torey Krug said of Kuraly. “He’s not a guy you ever question his courage or anything. But we give him a hard time now that he’s got the shield on. He’s got a little more courage and he’s playing hard.”
Still on the mend from numerous nasal fractures and a subsequent procedure to allow him to breathe easier, Kuraly is still scheduled to wear a full shield all the way through the All-Star Break, which runs into the weekend of Jan. 25-27. But for all the flak he catches for his new gear, Kuraly may want to keep his that fishbowl on for as long as he possibly can — especially if he’s playing like this.
He’s only lit the lamp 10 times in 122 career games in the NHL, but the speedy forward certainly knows when the time is right to bury one. For the second game in a row, Kuraly provided the heroics for the B’s on the national stage at Notre Dame Stadium Tuesday, pouncing on a rebound down low and knocking it past Cam Ward to give Boston the lead for good midway through the third period.
“I think that’s the type of goals we’ve got to score. … Leave the pretty ones to the guys who score the pretty ones,” Kuraly said. “We’ll take those.”
After tallying just one goal through his first 34 games this season, Kuraly has suddenly scored three in his last five games — with his last two directly handing four points to his club in the standings. Kuraly is now the first Bruins player to score a tiebreaking, winning goal in consecutive games for the B’s since Brad Marchand accomplished the feat in three straight tilts from March 3-8, 2018.
Along with the wheels and physical edge that allow him to be effective on the forecheck while logging shifts on the PK, Kuraly has developed a bit of a reputation for his clutch play — with three of his 10 regular-season goals standing as game-winners, to go along with four goals over 16 career playoff games.
That flair for the dramatic has made Kuraly a mainstay on Boston’s checking line over the last two seasons, but what about a role higher up on the depth chart?
A majority of his minutes this season have come on the fourth line with some combination of
Chris Wagner, Noel Acciari
and
David Backes
— with Kuraly logging a combined 232 minutes of 5v5 TOI between those various combinations.
But after a failed audition for Boston’s vacant spot at third-line center, Kuraly is starting to see his name show up more and more in high-leverage situations. The versatile forward centered both
Danton Heinen
and
Joakim Nordstrom
on the third line during Tuesday’s outdoor event, while even earning a few reps on the wing with
Patrice Bergeron
and
David Pastrnak
on Saturday against the Sabres.
He might be building some confidence over the last week or so, but Kuraly still doesn’t jump up as a top-six regular to
Bruce Cassidy
. As for that valued spot at the third-line pivot? Well ….
“I think in general, he’s better suited to the bottom of the lineup and hopefully, he leads a line at some point. And that’s what we’re asking of him. He’s been in the league a little bit. Hey, ‘Grab a couple of wingers, if they’re younger guys especially, and pull 'em along.’”
“
I don’t know what it is,” Kuraly said of his great play in the final minutes of matchups. “We can be talking about the same thing and I haven’t scored in two months. Sometimes they fall on your stick and I try to play as hard as I can every night for it to fall my way. Tonight, I’ll take it and hopefully they keep coming and if not, I’ll keep working and keep trying.”
