A heavy dose of Marcus Johansson might be what Bruins need in Game 6 to keep season alive

For as much as NHL officiating has been hemmed and hawed on over the past day (and for good reason), Bruce Cassidy appears to have refocused his energy on the task at hand — keeping the Bruins' season alive.

Some of that does involve reflecting on a miserable 2-1 loss on home ice in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, putting the club on the brink of elimination. But rather than harp on the calls (or lack thereof) on the ice, Cassidy took a long look at what his club needs to do to jumpstart an offense that has tallied just three goals over its last two contests.

“I guess the regret is we didn't win,” Cassidy said Friday. “I'd go on down the line, obviously I didn't push the right buttons. We didn't generate enough offense to win the game. That's the way I look at it. I don't look at one individual. … We'll have to look at it again for Game 6.”

Some of it was the byproduct of having to roll out seven defensemen to account for an injured Zdeno Chara gutting through a reported broken jaw, but Boston’s forward combinations were often thrown in a blender throughout the night, with Cassidy double-shifting wingers in an effort to generate any semblance of a spark from a top-six that has gone cold this series, especially during 5v5 play.

Keeping that 11F-7D structure is up in the air for Game 6, with the potential return of Matt Grzelcyk influencing Cassidy’s call. But even if Boston goes back to the status quo of six bodies on the blue line, Cassidy should not following a similar mentality up front.

For as much as Boston’s forwards labored on a night in which nine (!) different forward trios logged at least a minute of 5v5 time together, the club did have a few positives to draw from Cassidy’s lineup carousel.

Most of it revolves around the play of their deadline-day acquisition, who could very well keep Boston’s season alive if he continues to gain traction with the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.



One of the key cogs on what has been arguably been Boston’s most effective line at 5v5 play this postseason, Marcus Johansson was a worthy candidate for some top-six minutes on Thursday night. The winger isn’t nearly as taxed as other B’s skaters due to not logging PK shifts, is one of the top players on the roster in terms of generating clean zone entries and is great at finding seams in the O-zone.

As such, Johansson was a busy man in Game 5, logging 5:04 of 5v5 TOI with Krejci’s line, 2:24 with his regular crew in Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen and 1:36 up top with Bergeron and Co.

Wherever he was slotted in, the ice tilted strongly in favor of Boston, which hasn’t exactly been the case when both No. 37 and No. 46 have hopped over the boards as of late.

During the 13:31 of 5v5 TOI in which Johansson skated, the Bruins held a commanding 16-6 edge in shot attempts and a 13-3 advantage in actual shots on goal. Putting on a skating clinic for most of the night, Johansson often made things miserable for Jordan Binnington in net, with Boston holding a 6-0 cushion in high-danger scoring chances when No. 90 was out for a shift.

For reference, David Krejci has been out on the ice for five high-danger scoring chances for the Bruins this entire series — a span of 64:18 of 5v5 TOI. Of those five chances, four of them came in Game 5. Patrice Bergeron? Seven high-danger scoring chances this whole series (55:45 5v5 TOI).

For as bad as it’s seemed for Boston’s top-six this series when it comes to 5v5 play, the unit seemed to find some life in Game 5, especially when Cassidy opted to throw Johansson into the mix.

Through the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, a line featuring both Krejci and Jake DeBrusk failed to get inside against Binnington and the Blues, generating zero HDCF in 36:05 of 5v5 TOI together. In other words, the entire Stanley Cup Final up to that point.

When incorporating Johansson into the mix for Game 5, that trio outshot the Blues, 3-1, and held a 2-1 edge in HDCF in 5:04 of 5v5 TOI.

Johansson had limited reps with Bergeron and Marchand, but Boston still managed to hold a 3-1 lead in shot attempts during that 1:36 of ice time. Over an extended stretch of time, Boston will take that from its big guns up front, considering that its regular group of 63-37-88 generated a 35.71 CF% and was outshot, 7-3, together in Thursday’s defeat.

Along with some added reps in the top-six, Johansson’s ability to carry the puck with a head of steam would likely be a welcome addition on the top power-play unit, given the fact that the Bruins have gone 0-for-5 on the man advantage since Game 3 and struggled to even get set up in the O-zone Thursday against a wall of St. Louis skaters on the blue line.

(Either side of the ice, the Bruins labored against a Blues PK that often situated three bodies on the blue line, with the fourth collapsing in on the puck carrier. Johansson was missed on that top unit.)



“Entries,” Cassidy said of the top adjustment needed on the power play. “I thought last night they did a better job. We were looking at a certain side to get in. They have three across. If you can't get through the middle, they sort of have to sag then. I thought they did a good job of influencing us to one side. We gotta be quicker identifying that. We're not partial to one side. Marshy on one side, Pasta the other. I think in zone, they've been tight.

“Either got to stretch them out to get some seams or we got to be less stubborn, then get a net presence and take the shot that's available with that net presence. Maybe stretch them out off of puck recovery. A little bit is on us to make sure -- 'us' the staff -- and it's on the players to make the right decision at the right moment in time. That's what we'll look at."

With their season on the line, expect Cassidy to put just about everything on the table in an effort to get his club going. A heavier dose of Johansson could certainly help. However, as Boston’s bench boss was quick to note, no one player can do it alone.

“We know what's at stake in terms of if it doesn't go our way, we're packing, that's it, it's over,” Cassidy said. “I think our guys have responded well all year. This is a group that plays hard. I'm not concerned at all about what our effort will be, that part. It's can we execute well enough? We have to play our game better than they play theirs to keep playing."