It could have been much worse, but the Bruins will still need to brace themselves for a bit more lineup shuffling in the coming weeks, especially in their top-six corps.
Already without David Pastrnak (thumb surgery) up front, Boston will now be without its latest acquisition in winger Marcus Johansson for a bit, as the forward exited Tuesday’s win over the Hurricanes after colliding with Carolina’s Micheal Ferland just minutes into the matchup.
Marcus Johansson collides with Micheal Ferland and he's hurting. pic.twitter.com/FMhrwiUKQJ
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 6, 2019
Johansson was brought to Massachusetts General Hospital during the game and was held overnight for evaluation. After going through testing, the Bruins announced Wednesday evening that Johansson suffered a lung contusion following the heavy hit, but added that the 28-year-old skater was discharged from the hospital.
Obviously, not exactly what the Bruins were looking for, given that Johansson was only four games into his tenure with Boston and looking pretty effective on a line with
David Krejci
and
Jake DeBrusk
.
But for the time being,
Bruce Cassidy
has a few things to sort out with a vacant hole once again present on Krejci’s line. Here are a few candidates to slot in for the Bruins with Johansson on the mend.
Peter Cehlarik:
Based on Wednesday’s lines at practice, it seems like Cehlarik will get the first look at filling in for Johansson. It’s a solid option for Boston, with Cehlarik playing at his best this season while pushed up in a top-six spot with Krejci and DeBrusk.
In 104:46 of 5v5 time on ice (TOI) with both DeBrusk and Krejci, Cehlarik has looked like a viable, top-six winger — with that line generating a plus-44 edge in shot attempts and a plus-15 advantage in shots on goal while lighting the lamp five times. Surprisingly, that line’s scoring rate of 2.86 goals per 60 minutes of play actually ranks below a couple of other combinations featuring Krejci and DeBrusk — namely
Joakim Nordstrom
(more with him below).
Speaking after Wednesday’s practice, Cassidy noted that Cehlarik has a chance to get back on track after a couple of so-so outings while primarily skating with
Charlie Coyle
and
David Backes
. During Saturday’s win over New Jersey, Cehlarik
for his play away from the puck, while only earning 11:04 TOI in Tuesday’s win over Carolina.
“He came in and played on that (Krejci) line originally,” Cassidy said of Cehlarik. “He had good success. Hopefully, he can recapture that. Again, it’s a consistency level. You have to be able to do it every night. Because you’re playing against good players. Do you have to drive the line? Absolutely not - that’s Krech’s job. He’s owned it.
“Jake has become a pretty good follower to Krech on that line, pretty consistent now. He’s been streaky, but in general, he gets himself out of it. And that’s where Peter has to separate himself from the call-up guy, he’s got to do that every night and bring something to help the team win.”
After tallying a pair of goals and adding an assist over his first two games up with Boston this year, Cehlarik has only managed to record three points over his next 14 games, with his last goal coming back on Feb. 12 against the Blackhawks.
While a top-six job is likely Cehlarik’s to lose out of the gate with Johansson sidelined, Cassidy added that it will likely be an ongoing process when it comes to getting Cehlarik up to speed with the standards that Boston's bench boss has set for the rest of the team.
“There’s a getting to know process with Peter,” Cassidy said of Cehlarik. “He’s not as engaging as some of the other players, so it’s hard when you have a conversation — (I’m) probably giving you too much information — but you’ve got to pull certain things out of him. Being hard on himself, sometimes we think, because he’s quiet, is he stubborn, is he un-coachable?
“You’re trying to figure out what makes him tick, because we think he’s a good player, we just want to correct a few of the mistakes. It seems like we see some of the same ones. So after a while, it’s like, ok, we do have to fix these. This is the way the Bruins play. You’ve got to manage the puck a little better. You can’t make a play every time. When he’s on, he’s on. But when he’s not, he’s gotta recognize it.”
Joakim Nordstrom:
He hasn’t scored a goal — let alone tally a point — since all the way back on Dec. 17, but Nordstrom has earned plenty of reps alongside Krejci and DeBrusk this season as one of the more regular options on the team’s revolving door at right wing.
In 111:40 of 5v5 TOI together, a line with DeBrusk-Krejci-Nordstrom hasn’t lost much of a step when it comes to puck possession, with the trio out for 116 attempts for and just 85 attempts against — although the line has also been out for six 5v5 goals against, and six goals for. A 3.22 goals for per 60 minutes rate is pretty solid, and could rise with DeBrusk really operating at a high level as of late.
Still, ideally Boston would want to insert a player up in that spot with a bit more offensive punch, with Nordstrom better suited for a bottom-six role.
Charlie Coyle:
If Boston is looking for a more reliable option to slot up with Krejci and DeBrusk, it can’t go wrong with its other new acquisition in Coyle, who has centered Boston’s third line since getting dealt to the Bruins back on Feb. 20.
A versatile forward that earned reps as a winger on Minnesota’s top line after the Wild traded for center
Victor Rask,
Coyle projects as a forward that usually pairs well with Krejci as a big body (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) that can also get going in a hurry.
However, Coyle has played sparingly this season with both Krejci and DeBrusk at just 1:24 of 5v5 TOI together, with Coyle mostly remaining in his usual spot as Boston’s third-line pivot. Therein lies the problem with a potential promotion for Coyle — while he might fit in well up with Krejci and DeBrusk, what state does that leave Boston’s third line in?
While he’s yet to light the lamp so far in his short time with Boston, Coyle has
that has largely been viewed as one of the few flaws on an otherwise balanced roster for the B’s.
Could adding Coyle to the top-six alleviate some worries when it comes to giving DeBrusk and Krejci another established player to work alongside with? Certainly. But creating another vacuum at third-line center will likely create a whole new slew of issues for Cassidy and Co.
A call-up?
If Cehlarik doesn’t pan out and Boston opts to keep Nordstrom down on the third line, the Bruins could look at other options down in the AHL — likely starting with
Karson Kuhlman
. During his four-game stint up with Boston on its recent trek out to the West Coast, Kuhlman tallied a goal and an assist, while earning a couple of games up in a top-six role.
The Minnesota Duluth product may not project as an offensive dynamo up at the NHL level, but the 23-year-old forward does have the skating ability to compliment a line that likes to push the puck out of the neutral zone in a hurry and buzz around the offensive zone. During 31:40 of 5v5 TOI together, that line did tally a pair of goals and were not scored against, although they were actually a minus-1 in total shot attempts during that stretch.
Other potential call-up options include winger
Ryan Fitzgerald
(29 points in 45 games) and
Zach Senyshyn
(22 points in 51 games) — with the latter standing as one of just two players selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft that has yet to appear in an NHL game.
David Pastrnak:
Of course, we’re not forgetting about Pastrnak — who would solve a ton of issues for Boston if he’s cleared at some point next week. While Boston has not announced a definitive timetable for Pastrnak’s return, the winger has been skating ahead of Bruins practices for over a week now, and has been able to grip a stick for the last couple of days while wearing a modified splint under his glove. Once he’s given the green light, look for Pastrnak to slot in with Krejci and DeBrusk, especially if Johansson is still not ready to get back into game action quite yet.