Nick Ritchie to make Bruins’ debut Tuesday, Ondrej Kase given extra time to ‘acclimate’

At least one of the Bruins’ two deadline acquisitions are going to make their debut Tuesday night at TD Garden. 

Following Tuesday’s optional pregame skate at Warrior Ice Arena, Bruce Cassidy confirmed that forward Nick Ritchie will play in Boston’s matchup against the Flames later that evening — and will start on the third line with Charlie Coyle and Anders Bjork. 

Ritchie, who was acquired from the Ducks in a 1-for-1 swap for Danton Heinen on Monday afternoon, flew out from the West Coast just hours after getting dealt, but was getting a few reps in with his new teammates on Tuesday morning. 

A big-bodied power forward that should help Boston’s woes when it comes to generating 5v5 scoring chances, Ritchie will give that third line a different look — and should especially benefit... 



… from the extra O-zone time that a puck-possession force like Coyle and two-way skater like Bjork have been able to generate together — especially if he hangs around the Grade-A areas of the ice. 

“He’s obviously played in the league, big-body guy," Cassidy said when asked for a scouting report on Ritchie. "He can contribute with the net-front presence. Good shot, better hands than maybe he’s got credit for. We’ll have to see where he best fits. We’re going to start him tonight with Coyle and he’ll play the left side and Bjork will be on the right. Kuhlman will just go back with DeBrusk and Krejci. And then we’ll find out.

"Had some discussions with people in Anaheim — don’t want to be specific — about what he can bring and his best attributes and try to get those out of him. He’s a tough guy. He can certainly take care of that part of the game. He’s got good offensive instincts. … He’ll get an opportunity to play with Coyle tonight. Krejci down the road? If that doesn’t work, then he might drop down. I don’t know. It will be up to him with how he fits in. But we want to put him with a centerman that can get him the puck and create space for and get him in some offensive opportunities and see where that takes us.”

As for Ondrej Kase, the expected top-six solution for Krejci's grouping, the Bruins are going to go slowly when it comes to giving him the green light for game action. Even though Kase has practiced each of the last two days at Warrior, the Bruins will hold him out of Tuesday's game — with Thursday's home matchup against the Stars on Thursday tabbed by Cassidy as a possibility.

"I don’t want to make any promises … Tomorrow is a scheduled day off," Cassidy said. "That doesn’t help. That’s just the luck of the draw sometimes."

Kase has not played in a game since Feb. 7, a contest in which the winger was leveled off of a heavy hit from Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin. Since then, Kase has remained out of the lineup, with "flu-like symptoms" tabbed as the culprit for his absence.

Given that Kase has already suffered a couple of concussions in his four-year NHL career, you'd have to think that missing over two-plus weeks of action is chalked up to a bit more than just the flu. However, Don Sweeney did note on Monday evening that Kase has fully recovered.

https://twitter.com/NHLSafetyWatch/status/1226004989312671746

"Ondrej we may hold back for another day and give him another good set of practice to fully acclimate, but he’s healthy and ready to go," Sweeney said. "It’s just getting him fully up to speed."

It makes sense for the Bruins to be cautious with a player with plenty of potential (and injury history) in Kase, given that, if healthy, he could be a major shot in the arm to Krejci's line. Perhaps this low build-up for the winger is just the route prescribed in order to let Kase shake off the rust from an extended absence. Still, at least in the short term, the B's might have to hold their breath whenever an opposing skater lines up the B's new top-six option for a hit.