Boston’s best-of-seven series with the Blue Jackets might only be stuck in a 1-1 deadlock, but Bruce Cassidy is clearly not intent on keeping the status quo up front before either club can secure the edge in Game 3 on Tuesday night.
While the Bruins’ lineup will not fully come into picture until warmups get underway at Nationwide Arena, it appears as though David Pastrnak is set for a demotion into a bottom-six role — with the slumping winger looking to get back on track with another cycle-heavy duo in Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson.
But lost in all the hoopla that comes when a 38-goal scorer is taken out of the top-six was another minor lineup alteration by Cassidy that could generate positive reverberations throughout the lineup. His starting spot for Game 3 is still a bit up in the air, but one thing we know for sure — Karson Kuhlman is set to make his series debut against Columbus, with the rookie winger set to replace Chris Wagner in the lineup.
While Wagner (scoreless in seven playoff games) has primarily skated with Johansson + Coyle against Columbus, it looks as though Kuhlman could get a look back up on a line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk — if Monday’s practice lines hold true. Whichever role he fills, whether it be in the top six or solidifying a line with Coyle and Johansson if Cassidy opts to keep Pastrnak up top, Kuhlman should be a positive influence, especially when it comes to his speed and ability to recover pucks on the forecheck.
“We liked his game,” Cassidy said of Kuhlman. "Obviously played well in Games 6 and 7 (vs. Toronto) and helped us get some wins. We just went a different route early on, see how the series would shake out. I think last series, we used everyone that was healthy and played. This series, may or may not work out that way.”
Now, how much can adding Kuhlman — with all of 16 career NHL games under his belt — really provide that much of a boost needed to get an inconsistent B’s top-six corps back on track?
His scoring totals (one assist over five playoff games) might not signal a bonafide option to slot in next to a playmaking pivot like Krejci. But in a perfect scenario, Kuhlman will not be the one called upon to drive a line. Rather, it will put the onus on someone like an ice-cold DeBrusk (one goal, two points over nine playoff games) to take matters into his own hands.
When Pastrnak was logging shifts with Krejci and DeBrusk, Cassidy noted that both the regular stalwarts on Boston’s second line would often defer to No. 88 in the offensive zone — a sound strategy when the dynamic winger is playing to his capabilities. When he’s not, it can have a devastating domino effect.
With Krejci and DeBrusk taken out of the equation and Pastrnak struggling with shot selection, shot hesitation and puck control, that line has failed to mesh so far in the postseason — generating just one 5v5 goal and posting a 48.48 CF% in 63:24 of 5v5 TOI. It may seem to be an unorthodox fit, but adding a speedy winger like Kuhlman that is more adept at winning puck battles and opening up the ice — rather than funneling the offense through him — has often led to a spike in offensive production for Krejci and DeBrusk.
In just over 68 minutes of 5v5 TOI in which the DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman line was deployed during the regular season, the trio generated eight goals — good for an absurd 5v5 goals scored per 60 minutes rate of seven (7.00!). For comparison, the GF/60 rate for the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line during the regular season was 3.51.
For reference, in 63:24 of 5v5 TOI this postseason, the DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak line has a GF/60 rate of — 0.95. Woof.
“He’s played well with Krejci and DeBrusk,” Cassidy said of Kuhlman. “When he’s on that line, Jake is going to look for his offense more and shoot more. So that’s a little bit of the thinking. (DeBrusk) knows he should be the primary goal scorer. When Pasta is over there, there might be some deferring. That’s one of the reasons we put (Kuhlman) there originally. He’s pretty straight line, even to get Krech shooting more, to be honest with you.”
Even if Kuhlman was added in on the third line with Coyle and Johansson, the results have been there as well — as good forechecking pressure by the winger in Game 7 against Toronto led to a loose puck, and subsequent scoring chance, that was cashed in by Johansson.
But for now, it looks as though Kuhlman will get his first crack at trying to get Krejci and DeBrusk going. Forcing an ice-cold scorer like DeBrusk to be the focal point of the offense is a bit of a gamble, but sooner or later, the B’s are going to need him to start getting back to his bread and butter and fire away from the dirty areas of the ice.
“At the end of the day, Jake has the attributes to score in the playoffs. He will go inside, take a hit, take a slash to get in there,” Cassidy said. “He just has to do it a little more right now. Puck has to find him. He's playing against a good defense corps, so I think that's part of it as well. I don't have a great reason why he hasn't lit it up. I think the other night is a good example. He's in all alone and he chose to pass. Maybe he'd become a little more true to himself in terms of how he played all year, which is a shot-first mentality."
Jake DeBrusk did not shoot the puck here. pic.twitter.com/f59mRN1jOk
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 28, 2019