Matt Grzelcyk might not be a doctor, but it didn’t take a PhD for the Charlestown native to recognize that something felt very, very wrong on Saturday night at Barclays Center.
When Derick Brassard’s stick struck Grzelcyk in the back of the leg, the Bruins defenseman immediately dropped to one leg. The slash from the Islanders’ pivot connected on an unprotected area of Grzelcyk’s gear, but as he limped towards Boston’s bench, he chalked it up as a “stinger” — one that could be corrected after some work from the medical staff.
But the pain didn’t subside, nor could Grzlecyk do much to at least grit through the rest of the game. After just two shifts and 1:27 of ice time, his night was done.
"Just an awkward spot in my leg, so I really didn't have much mobility, tried it out in between periods and wasn't able to put much weight on it,” Grzelcyk said on Sunday, adding: “Kind of weird, thought it was gonna be one of those stingers, but didn't really go away for a while. Couldn't really move out there, so there wasn't much I was gonna be able to bring to the table.”
Boston’s fellow youngsters on the blue line in Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo held down the fort in what was an eventual 3-2 overtime win over the Islanders, but as Grzelcyk went in for X-rays, a B’s blue line in need of his puck-moving services held its collective breath.
Thankfully for the Bruins, it appears as though Grzelcyk will not have to spend an extended stretch on the shelf, as the defenseman was back on the ice Sunday afternoon during an optional skate at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.
Grzelcyk, who was cleared for Monday’s matchup against the Flyers, would be the first to tell you that he dodged a bullet.
“Felt a lot better than expected this morning, so it was nice to get out there and test it,” Grzelcyk said following practice.
He might primarily function as a third-pairing option on Boston’s D corps, but losing Grzelcyk for an extended stretch could have been a tough pill for the Bruins to swallow.
Even if Grzelcyk hasn’t been afforded as many favorable O-zone starts as, say, Torey Krug (72.47% of his faceoffs have been in the Off. Zone), Grzelcyk ranks second among all B’s defenseman in terms of 5v5 goals against per 60 minutes at 1.91.
His expected goals against per 60 minute rate of 1.85 (tops among defensemen) is more of a testament to the fact that Grzelcyk’s ability to lead the breakout and carry the puck out of danger is a valuable asset to the B’s blue line.
Grzelcyk's versatility has also been a luxury for Bruce Cassidy and the B's. A natural left-shot skater, Grzelcyk has shifted over to his weak side since John Moore returned from injury last month, but Grzelcyk's best asset might be his ability to play up in the lineup and spark other blue liners when it comes to 5v5 offense.
The best example is McAvoy, who is still looking to secure his first goal of the 2019-20 campaign. While McAvoy has had plenty of success with Zdeno Chara on Boston's top D pairing, Cassidy has often slotted McAvoy with Grzelcyk and Krug in order to get him rolling in the O-zone.
With Chara (jaw) sidelined during Boston's win over the Jets on Thursday, a new top pairing of Grzelcyk-McAvoy dominated. In their 17:37 of 5v5 TOI together, the Bruins held an absurd 11-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances — pretty impressive stuff, considering just 25.00% of their faceoffs came in the offensive zone.
Given both his impact in Boston's transition game and his ability to slot up and down Boston's D pairings when needed, the Bruins have to be counting their blessings that Grzelcyk will be ready to go on Monday night.
"Feeling good," Grzelcyk said Monday. "Today was a lot better than yesterday. Excited to get out there tonight."
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