How Sean Kuraly’s potential return in Game 5 could tip the scales in favor of Bruins against Toronto

John Moore had seen it on film before. But upon making his postseason debut with Boston on Wednesday night up in Scotiabank Arena, the veteran defenseman was candid when asked if Toronto’s aggressive forecheck managed to catch some of the Bruins’ skaters on their heels during prolonged stretches of the B’s 6-4 win.

“Just seems like every chance they get, they’re getting pucks behind you and they always have speed on the puck,” Moore said. “That was evident, just watching the games and then last night, getting in, it seemed like every chance they got, a puck was behind us and they had guys flying after it, laying the body on you.”

The Bruins might have escaped Toronto with a win, but even the basic eye test could tell you that Boston was lucky to emerge with 2-2 deadlock in its best-of-seven series. The stats concur, as the B’s were out-attempted by an absurd 70-43 rate during 51:52 of 5v5 TOI, with the Leafs generating 40 scoring chances and 10 high-danger chances during that stretch — while Boston countering with just 22 and five, respectively.

Matching up Patrice Bergeron against John Tavares has been a fascinating chess match for most the series, with Toronto’s top line only generating one 5v5 goal against No. 37 in over 30 minutes of TOI together.

Tavares and his line have been held in check as of late, but Toronto has still managed to land some punches in an unexpected spot in their lineup — as the Leafs’ fourth line of Trevor Moore, Frederik Gauthier and Tyler Ennis has feasted against Boston’s checking line of Noel Acciari, Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom during their two games up in Toronto.

Whereas Boston deployed one of the most effective fourth lines in the league during the regular season when it came to establishing a forecheck and hemming a top-six assignment in their own zone, such hasn’t been the case so far this postseason.

After spending most of the third period of Monday’s Game 3 loss on the bench, things didn’t get much better for the Acciari line on Wednesday when matched up against the Ennis and Co. Along with getting a 5v5 goal scored against them off of a Travis Dermott blast at 13:27 in the third, the Acciari line finished the game with a collective CF% of just 22.22 — with the Leafs holding a 14-4 edge in shot attempts during just 7:22 of TOI. During that same stretch, Toronto managed to generate eight scoring chances, even with both the Tavares and Matthews lines watching from the bench.

For Cassidy, it’s been easy to spot the root cause of his checking line’s issues up in Toronto.

"They need to have more O-zone puck possession, or they're in trouble,” Cassidy said. “That's been one of the strengths of the group. They can keep a puck alive in the O-zone against good players. … They've spent a lot of time and energy defending. So A, they get tired. B, they get frustrated. So that's been the big, big strength of that line and they just haven't been able to do that yet.”

Thankfully, a solution could be on the way for what should be a pivotal Game 5 on Friday.



While he’s not been officially cleared yet, Sean Kuraly has continued to show progress since fracturing his hand against the New Jersey Devils on March 21. Speaking on Thursday afternoon at Warrior Ice Arena, Cassidy noted Kuraly has officially been tabbed as a game-time decision for Friday — with the final call set for the following morning.

With a career-high 21 points tallied during 71 games played this season, the 26-year-old center/wing would add a much-needed scoring punch to Boston’s bottom-six, while you also can’t overlook Kuraly’s value in crunch time — as he’s tallied four goals and six points in 16 career postseason games.

But beyond his baseline stats, Kuraly provides immense value thanks to his mix of both size (6-foot-2, 213 pounds) and speed — usually excelling as a third forward on an effective Boston forecheck while often serving as his line’s go-to option on the breakout.

“Sean’s greatest strength is his ability to transport the puck out of our zone and close first and get out,” Cassidy said. “He’s strong, a real good skater. So he can get the puck out of our zone and I think that line has done a good job in terms of structurally, getting in lanes, blocking shots, willing to battle. But they miss that element, of having to get it and go and separate."

It’s hard to argue with the results when it comes to Kuraly’s presence on a line with his usual crew in Wagner and Acciari. While Nordstrom has filled in admirably for Kuraly (especially on the penalty kill), Cassidy has often had to put what was a trusted checking line on the backburner this series.

So far this postseason, the Nordstrom-Acciari-Wagner line has been out on the ice 31:04 of 5v5 TOI. During that stretch, they have been outscored, 2-0, due in large part to a startling lack of puck possession for a trio that’s usually very hard to play against. During their time out on the ice together, the 20-55-14 line has generated just a 39.71 CF% (out-attempted 41-27) while relinquishing 11 high-danger scoring chances.

Now, the Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner line was by no means an offensive powerhouse out on the ice, but Cassidy could at least rely on them to keep a hold on the puck, break the puck out of Boston’s zone and keep a top-six assignment chasing down the other end of the ice.

In 401 minutes of 5v5 TOI in which Kuraly skated with both Acciari and Wagner, Boston held a plus-30 shot attempt differential and an impressive plus-43 shot differential. Impressive stuff, considering that line was often called upon to account for an opposing club’s first or second line.

Of course, shot attempts and outright shots on goal are a good indicator of puck possession, and with Kuraly assisting on the breakout, Boston’s fourth line has usually avoided extended stretches of getting stuck in their own zone.

The Nordstrom-Acciari-Wagner line hasn’t been so fortunate in that regard.

Whether it be struggling to get to loose pucks en route to a clear attempt or failing to make the necessary first pass to get bodies moving out of the zone, it was a regular sight on Wednesday to see Boston's checking line hemmed in against Toronto's bottom six. As seen below, in which Wagner and Acciari were not able to corral a loose puck to the right of Rask, it led to an extended stretch of possession for the Leafs, with Mike Babcock even able to deploy new bodies like William Nylander as the zone time continued to grow.



Another failed clear leads to a number of low-to-high sequences for the Leafs during a dominant third period for Toronto.



Kuraly very well might be the fastest skater on the Bruins, and his speed has been missed against Toronto, especially during sequences in Boston's own zone. While Kuraly can be a one-man breakout if given a lane to push the puck into the neutral zone, he's also more than willing to make the necessary first pass — as seen below during Boston's matchup against the Penguins back on Dec. 14. Fair to say, Kuraly's speed and smarts have been missed as of late.



The best defense can also be a good offense, and with Kuraly breaking the puck out and establishing zone time in the opposition's side of the ice, it can create quite the domino effect.

Kuraly's speed comes in handy in the O-zone, as seen below in which he closes in on a loose puck skittering along the boards, prevents a clearing attempt and funnels the biscuit back in towards Pittsburgh net. As the F3 (the forward that hangs back on the forecheck), Kuraly was immense in a game where Boston's fourth line held a 7-2 edge in shots on goal while primarily matched up with Evgeni Malkin's line.



As a whole, the Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner line was suffocating against the Penguins — with Boston holding the edge in shot attempts (18-3, 85.71 CF%), shots on goal (14-2) and goals (1-0) while its fourth line was deployed during that matchup back in December.

"In the offensive zone, we’ve seen him — he can be a one-man cycle," Cassidy said of Kuraly. "So he will force the other team to defend, hang onto pucks. Get it out of our end, possess it and earn it."

"One-man cycle," you say? See for yourself.



At this point, the Bruins-Leafs bout has come down to a best-of-three series, with Boston now holding home ice in two of these matchups. While the Bergeron line has held up its end of the bargain in terms of negating Tavares's crew at 5v5 play, the B's can't afford to let Toronto's third and fourth lines hem Boston in going forward.

The addition of Kuraly should alleviate those issues in short order — not only giving Boston a go-to breakout option in the bottom-six and a much-needed F3 — but also providing Cassidy with a line that could handle stints against Toronto's top-six when necessary.

OTHER BRUINS NOTES

Bracket busters: While Cassidy is diverting most of his energy towards getting past the Leafs, he’s still a hockey fan like the lot of us. And, like most of us, he was shocked with the Lightning’s first-round exit against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Tampa Bay, who tied the NHL record with 62 wins this season, were swept by Columbus — opening the door for a number of other contenders in the Eastern Conference.

“Interesting. I did not see it coming. I don't know if you did," Cassidy said. "We played Columbus late in the year, we saw how they can play. They're a good team. I think they were still putting their pieces together. Sounds like the pieces are together now. I watched a lot of that series. I didn’t see it coming, but Stanley Cup Playoffs, nothing surprises you. Once you're in, every team has a chance to win. Our focus is much more on the Toronto Maple Leafs, but listen, I'm a hockey fan. I would not have guessed that Tampa would not win a game in the playoffs."

Columbus is far from the only team poised to be spoilers in the first round of NHL playoff action, as the Calgary Flames — the top seed in the Western Conference — currently trail the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, in their best-of-seven series.

Bergeron, Chara earn award nominations: The NHL Awards ceremony for the 2018-19 NHL season won’t be held until June 19 in Las Vegas, but a couple of Bruins are once again expected to be in the mix to take home some hardware.

Zdeno Chara — already the Bruins’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2018-19 — is also the club’s representative for the 2018-19 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." The three finalists for the 2018-19 King Clancy Memorial Trophy will be announced on Tuesday, April 23.

Meanwhile, to the surprise of very few, Patrice Bergeron was named as one of the three finalists for the 2019 Frank J. Selke Trophy — awarded annually to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

This stands as the eighth straight season in which Bergeron has been named a Selke Trophy finalist, and will be joined by Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone and St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly as finalists. Bergeron is currently tied with Bob Gainey for the most Selke Trophy captured by a single player with four in his career.

While Bergeron was limited to just 65 games this season due to a rib/sternoclavicular injury that he suffered back in November, the veteran center was once again as advertised away from his regular offensive production (which still peaked with a career-high 79 points). Bergeron ranked sixth among all NHLers in faceoff win percentage (56.6 percent), second in offensive-zone faceoff percentage (59.7), fifth in power-play faceoff wins (162) and 13th in faceoff wins (786) — while also leading the B’s in shot attempts differential at 56.73 percent and ranking sixth in the league in goals above replacement (19.80).

He might be a winger, but Stone has made an impressive case for himself this season — leading the NHL in goals above replacement (26.90) and ranking first overall in takeaways over the last four seasons (241) — while O’Reilly has been a plus player down both ends of the ice (75 points, 56.9 FO%) for the Blues. However, with Bergeron just one off of setting a record for most Selke Trophies accrued, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise if the PHWA tips its cap to Bergeron on what has been a surefire Hall-of-Fame career.