On paper, Bruce Cassidy had an inkling of what to expect going into the 2018-19 season.
With regulars like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak all in tow, the Bruins were set to roll out one of the top lines in all of hockey, while David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk had the firepower to give Boston a potent top-six corps.
Add in a promising defense with young skaters like Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk all expected to make major strides — and a tantalizing duo in net in Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak — and the Bruins had the pieces in place to orchestrate another Cup run.
But off the ice, Cassidy realistically didn’t know what to expect.
Even with stalwarts such as Bergeron and Zdeno Chara anchoring opposite sides of the locker room, every team varies when it comes to finding chemistry, even when only a few new faces are added to the mix.
The additions in the offseason — Halak, Chris Wagner, John Moore and Steven Kampfer — coupled with deadline pickups of Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson, have certainly changed the complexion of the B’s room, while rolling out a roster that opened the year with 10 players under the age of 26 also creates a unique dynamic on a franchise anchored by an established veteran group.
It was a unique concoction of players placed in the same locker room — but one that, for whatever reason, has just seemed to gel for this Bruins team.
This marks the 23rd year of coaching pro hockey for Cassidy, and the B’s bench boss would be the first to acknowledge that there’s really no rhyme or reason when it comes to determining how players are going to mesh away from the ice.
“If you're in (hockey) long enough, guys are like, you just can't wait for the season to end or somebody to pull the plug, because guys just don't hit it off,” Cassidy said. “It happens, unfortunately. Sometimes, it happens with talented teams, too. That's where the head scratching comes in. What's going on? Why is this team not winning? I'm sure there's a team or two in the National Hockey League this year that's going through it. Fortunately, we're not."
Sure enough — on a Bruins team featuring a top D pairing with a casual 20-year difference in age — the club has managed to compile a crew that has somehow clicked this season.
“Success, for one,” Cassidy said of what leads to a close-knit room. “You need success to appreciate other guys. I think the individual character. I think if they come from winning programs, that helps. They're used to supporting one another. That's what generally happens. You put those three things in there. Bonding of the team, how does that happen? It's a mystery, honestly. I think any team, if you could get all together and all the guys like each other, it's one of the best fortunes, but it doesn't happen all the time.
We were all @1996_Carlo last night.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/dGyEJVHNSy
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 8, 2019
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