Assessing Bruins’ to-do list before playoff hockey returns

There are only 17 games and a little over five weeks separating the Boston Bruins from playoff hockey. 

But even if the Bruins are sitting comfortably atop of the NHL standings — seven points up against Tampa Bay — Bruce Cassidy and his club still have plenty of loose ends and question marks to resolve before the calendar turns to spring.

Here’s a look at Cassidy’s to-do list over the next couple of weeks: 

1. Carve out a defined role for Charlie Coyle’s wingers:

With Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie getting a look up with David Krejci’s second line, Jake DeBrusk seems to be the default option on Charlie Coyle’s left for the time being. 

But Coyle’s RW is much less of a sure bet these days. 

Anders Bjork has earned the lion’s share of minutes next to Coyle this season, with the duo logging 382:45 of 5v5 ice time together. The results have been positive during that stretch, with Boston holding a 16-14 edge in 5v5 goals. But Bjork’s regular spot in that lineup is far from guaranteed, especially after the winger was benched for the final 9:17 of the second period of Thursday’s win over Dallas. 

During Friday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Bjork switched off with Joakim Nordstrom as potential fourth-line options, while Karson Kuhlman skated alongside Coyle and DeBrusk. 

Cassidy noted after practice that the final weeks of the regular season could see



both Bjork and Kuhlman competing for that vacant RW spot next to Coyle — given that both wingers fit the same profile as speedy, two-way wingers that have struggled with generating consistent 5v5 offense. 

Among Bruins skaters that have logged at least 250 minutes of 5v5 TOI, Kuhlman and Bjork rank third and fourth, respectively, in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 1.72 and 1.75. Pretty solid!

But Kuhlman might have the slight edge once the more physical brand of playoff hockey starts to become more commonplace down the stretch — as the 24-year-old winger separated himself from the pack last spring by serving as the de-facto top-six option next to Krejci in the Stanley Cup Final. 

Still, Cassidy expects to give Bjork every opportunity to keep his regular spot in the lineup down the stretch. 

“Yeah, it will probably play out that way,” Cassidy said of both Bjork and Kuhlman fighting for a middle-six spot. (Anton) Blidh is in the mix, too. But Blidh is more of a fourth-line type of guy. If we were to move (Sean) Kuraly back up again, then he gets a little more into the mix. We want to keep players probably where they most likely will have success. Nordy has played up, so he could get in that mix too. 

“With Anders, like last night, that’s a great example of what he's up against. If we make the playoffs, we have some success, he’s going to see that type of hockey. It’s a bit of a learning curve for him last night. Kuhly has been through it. Jake’s been through it. So they have a little more experience with that. … At the end of the day, we might (switch Bjork and Kuhlman) right down to the end if we have to. That’s kind of the plan right now. We’d like Anders to grow his game, to be able to play in those types of environments.”

2. Shoring up the back end of D corps:

At this point, the first two pairings of Boston’s blue line are locked in: 

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo 

Matt Grzelcyk remans as the constant on Boston’s third D pairing, but his partner is still far from a certainty.  Based on the eye test and the underlying numbers, it would appear as Jeremy Lauzon has locked up that spot for the time being. The 22-year-old skater might not be flashy, but Lauzon’s physical brand of hockey is a nice compliment to Grzelcyk’s fleet-footed style of play — and opposing chances have dried up whenever Lauzon has hopped over the boards. 

But Cassidy might have to juggle some bodies down the stretch, given that both John Moore and Connor Clifton are waiting for a chance to get back into the lineup. Moore, a veteran who has been up and down this season after returning from offseason shoulder surgery, has only appeared in three games over the last four-plus weeks. 

Clifton, who has been sidelined since Dec. 29 due to injury, is cleared for game action after completing a conditioning stint down in Providence. 

For now, it looks as though it’s Lauzon’s gig to lose.

“We like Grizz and Lauzy for the most part. We got to be careful that Johnny and Cliffy don’t sit too long," Cassidy said. "So that will be working them into games. … I wish I could tell ya I have a set plan for exactly when (Clifton’s) going in, but I don’t. We’re going to stick with the same six D tomorrow and then we’ve got Tampa, so you want to get as close to your lineup as you think you might have going forward.”

Where do new pieces fit? 

If the Bruins’ middle-six grouping is going to take a major step forward and start generating consistent 5v5 scoring bids, there’s a good chance that both Kase and Ritchie will be pulling the rope. 

The results were pretty promising on Thursday night, with Ritchie tallying a goal and an assist — while Kase landed two shots on goal and showed off some of the speed that should make him a key weapon in Boston’s 5v5 arsenal. 

Cassidy noted that Ritchie and Kase will likely remain with Krejci for the time being, but the race is on to find a regular role in the lineup for both forwards. Such an opportunity wasn’t exactly granted last season for Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson. 

Due to injuries, Coyle was regularly bumped up into a top-six wing spot during February and March of 2019, while injuries limited Johansson to just 10 regular-season games before the playoffs got underway. Ultimately, both acquisitions clicked on a third line next to Danton Heinen and thrived last season — but Cassidy is looking for said roles to become much more defined for Ritchie and Kase before Boston gets to the postseason. 

“Seeing Ritchie and Kase with Krech, obviously,” Cassidy said of his current priorities. “Who fits best. I liked the way they looked last night. But it’s one game, so we’ll stick with them at least for tomorrow.”

Odds and ends: 

Sorting out the best combination on the fourth line continues to be an issue for the B’s. So far this season, Chris Wagner (a regular on said line) has logged at least 40 minutes of 5v5 ice time with seven different forwards.

Sean Kuraly should be a regular on said line, but the forward could also find himself getting bumped into the middle-six if Cassidy wants to experiment. Even if Kuraly remains in a north-south, checking role, Boston might opt to see if his game fares better on the wing, rather than his usual spot at center. Look for Kuraly to remain at the wing for Saturday’s matinee against the Islanders, while Par Lindholm will hold steady as the man in the middle for now. 

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We’re not breaking new ground here, but Cassidy also stressed the need for Boston to give itself some breathing room in the standings — with some extra cushioning giving the B’s bench boss the luxury of managing the minutes of his top players down the stretch.

Boston still has some space between it and Tampa, but with a pair of games against the Lightning on the docket for next week, things can change in a hurry. 

“That’s still a little bit down the road, but it’d be great if we did, to be able to sort of pick and choose and get guys in to keep them fresh," Cassidy noted.