Bruins Notebook: Backes ready to scrap down low in effort to solve Bobrovsky, more tinkering on power play & more

David Backes received some good news on what was his 35th birthday on Wednesday afternoon.

The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs hasn’t exactly been all that kind to the veteran forward — who has only appeared in four of Boston’s 10 games so far this postseason. Inserted into Boston’s lineup ahead of Game 2 against Toronto to add a physical punch, Backes’ impact started to wane as he continued to earn starts. In his last outing on Game 5 against the Leafs, Backes only logged 4:36 of TOI, with Bruce Cassidy keeping him on the bench for the entirety of the third period at TD Garden.

But after sitting out the last five games, Backes was back in the mix during Wednesday’s practice at Nationwide Arena. A extra skater for most of the last week, Backes was set to finally join a set line — and a top-six group no less.

While Cassidy noted that any lineup decisions will not be set in stone until Thursday morning, Backes skated on Boston’s second-line grouping of David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk — the latest move by Cassidy in an effort to get the Bruins’ offense back on track after stalling out once again during Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets in Game 3.

It’s a task easier said than done, especially given how Sergei Bobrovsky has performed as of late — with the Columbus netminder posting a .956 save percentage over his last two outings.

With just seven goals scored over 70 games played during the regular season, Backes may not seem to be the logical top-six addition that Boston needs in order to start getting the puck past Bobrovsky.

But at this point, Cassidy and the Bruins believe they have enough skill in their top six. What they’re missing — and what Backes provides — is a big body that’s going to be awfully hard to knock out of the blue paint, despite the Jackets’ best efforts in the O-zone.



“He’s a net presence,” Cassidy said of Backes. “Something that’s needed against Bobrovsky. I think we did a good job with that at times. Just didn’t find loose pucks. … I think that's the formula for us now, get some traffic in there without bumping him. (Backes) will bring that.”

While Bobrovsky has been stout all postseason and has turned aside numerous secondary scoring chances, the Bruins haven’t had much success when it comes to making the netminder work down in Grade-A areas — with Boston’s average shot distance this series clocking in at close to 40 feet out from the Jackets’ net.

Unsurprisingly, four of Boston’s six goals scored so far this series have come in close against Bobrovsky — with a backhand shot from DeBrusk in Game 3, a snapshot and tip-in by Charlie Coyle in Game 1 and a deflection by David Pastrnak in Game 2 all generated for an average distance of 15.75 feet from the net. Coincidence? Unlikely.

If we want to loop in Noel Acciari’s goal in Game 1 and Matt Grzelcyk’s power-play tally in Game 2, the average distance of all six of Boston’s goals equals out to just 22 feet — far below the team’s average shot distance of 39.46 in this series.



By adding a big body down low in Backes on a cycle-heavy line with Krejci and DeBrusk, Cassidy and Co. are hoping that the veteran will be able to both screen Bobrovsky from quality looks while putting himself in position to either alter shots and pot rebounds from right in front of the net — even if he takes some punishment along the way.

"From my point of view, if he's seeing it, he's stopping it," Backes said of Bobrovsky. "He's over quick on lateral plays, he's doing a heck of a job to keep them in games and to give them chances to win. It's been three one-goal games, so the margins are very small. If we can take his eyes away, find a couple loose pucks in front of the net - it's kind of what I've done my whole career - that would be great and give us a better chance to win.

“So hopefully I find myself at the top of that paint for extended periods of times with little black pucks flying by me and try to get tips, rebounds and screens. it's no secret how you score this time of year and I want to be a part of that."

Some tweaks on power play

To say that Boston’s first power-play unit was in need of an overhaul is a bit of an understatement at this point. So far in this series against Columbus, Boston has only cashed in once on its 10 stints on the man advantage — with that tally scored by Grzelcyk on the club’s second PP crew.

Not only have Boston’s big guns failed to capitalize against Bobrovsky, but they’ve often failed to generate much of anything in terms of offensive-zone pressure  — with the top unit of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug and Marcus Johansson only landing four shots on goal against Bobrovsky through three games.

While slotting out a slumping forward like Pastrnak on the power play and replacing him with Krejci at the elbow is a more than suitable alternative, it appears as though Cassidy’s tweaks for Game 4 will be at the netfront — as DeBrusk switched spots with Johansson and logged reps with the first PP unit during Wednesday’s practice.

Johansson has been solid since getting a bump up to the top unit this postseason, and does present plenty of value when it comes to carrying the puck into the O-zone — but it seems as though Cassidy is prioritizing the puck recovery and cycle potential that DeBrusk brings over the netfront playmaking that Johansson offers.

"We like both him and Marcus,” Cassidy said of DeBrusk. “I think Marcus makes more plays from the goal line, in terms of little seam passes, touch plays into the bumper. Jake's more of puck recovery, screen guy that can certainly score. He'll stay there a little more in front of the goaltender. I think we're lacking a little bit of that on our power play.

“We like that part of his game on it. He's good at puck retrievals on entries. JoJo is more the puck carrier on entries. He's better at that, so there's a little give and take there if we make that switch. "We're comfortable with both. I think they've both done a good job. Just the whole unit as a group hasn't done a good enough job in this series."

B’s re-up Blidh

With the Providence Bruins’ season coming to a close last week, work is already underway to recoup a number of skaters that could make an impact up at the NHL level in 2019-20.

The B’s first move came on Wednesday evening, as the team announced that it signed forward Anton Blidh to a two-year, two-way contract extension through the 2020-21 season. The new deal will have an annual cap hit of $700,000.

While Blidh has only played two games with the Bruins over the last two seasons, the physical winger is a reliable AHL call-up option for a bottom-six role, as he played in 19 games with the Bruins during the 2016-17 campaign.

Blidh played in 74 games with the Providence Bruins this season, scoring 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points and a plus-16 rating. The 6-foot, 201-pound forward also led the team with 94 penalty minutes.

Shot maps courtesy of Sean Tierney.