3 possible lineup shuffles the Bruins might want to take a look at before next round

The Bruins have one game left in round-robin play before the stakes are raised – and true consequences take shape — in the following round of playoff hockey. 

Boston will have plenty to play for during Sunday’s matchup against the Capitals — with the No. 3 seed in the East up for grabs if the B’s are able to secure two points against Washington. But internally, the Bruins will also be taking a long look at what could be yet another roster shuffle, with Bruce Cassidy and his staff in desperate search of the right pieces to plug into the various vacancies across the middle-six forward grouping.

Entering Sunday’s matchup, it seems likely that Ondrej Kase will get his first taste of game action since the second week of March, with the B’s deadline pickup expected to slot in on David Krejci’s line and try to receive a dormant forward trio with his shot-first mentality.

But, whether it be on Sunday or in the following round of playoff action, what are some other lineup switches that the Bruins could take a look at in order to get this offense rolling?

Let’s take a look:



Anders Bjork as Krejci’s LW: 

Despite the state of flux in Boston’s middle six, the spot to David Krejci’s left wasn’t expected to be a major point of discussion going into Phase 4 play, with Jake DeBrusk — despite his streaky offensive contributions — in line to remain at his usual spot in the lineup. 

But so far in Phase 4, DeBrusk has not instilled much confidence in Boston’s coaching staff — with the winger dropping down in the lineup after generating zero shot attempts and scoring chances next to Krejci during the B’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers last Sunday. Shifting to right wing on Charlie Coyle’s line yielded similar results on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, with DeBrusk failing to land a shot on goal despite logging 16 minutes of ice time. 

With Kase likely back in the fold this Sunday against Washington, Cassidy could opt to put DeBrusk back next to Krejci and see if a 74-46-28 line can gain some traction. But if Boston wants to give that line another look, perhaps Anders Bjork could earn himself a promotion. 

Like many other Bruins so far in Phase 4, the tangible scoring statistics for Bjork and Boston’s third line have been pretty muted — with Boston failing to lighting the lamp in the 19:21 of 5v5 ice time that the two have skated together.

But Bjork has often been one of the few wingers on this B’s roster to actively make things happen, whether it be beating out skaters on the forecheck or using his speed to sail through the neutral zone and draw penalties (twice against Philly on Sunday).

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Even if the scoring chances have yet to be cashed in by that third line, Boston has often held the edge in puck-possession metrics when Bjork has hopped over the boards, with Boston holding the edge in shot attempts (27-18) and scoring chances (16-10) when Bjork has been on the ice during 5v5 play against both Philadelphia and Tampa. 

Having a winger ready and willing to retrieve pucks down low as the F1 on the forecheck in Bjork could at least help Krejci and his line generate more regular O-zone time, considering the B's second-line center has just a 39.58% shot share over the last two games.

Of course, the question remains where exactly one would slot a player like DeBrusk if not a 2LW, considering that his time as a right winger hasn’t been all that fruitful, to say the least. But if Boston is adamant on giving that second line a completely different look, Bjork stands as a worthy call-up candidate from the bottom six.

David Pastrnak slots down with David Krejci:

Ah, yes: The classic lineup switcheroo that’s a favorite of many analytics buffs — but one that might be the biggest stretch in terms of coming to fruition during this playoff run.

Given the expected production Boston usually generates from a line with just Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand leading the way, you could make the case that David Pastrnak would be best served on the second line — finally giving Krejci a top-flight sniper to work with, and balancing out Boston’s top-six scoring. 

Boston certainly has the pieces to pull off such a move, with the trio of Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak would still team up on the club’s usually potent top power-play unit. 

The merits of having a player of Pastrnak’s offensive caliber on Krejci’s line is rather evident, but Boston also has the luxury of slotting in a number of worthy candidates next to both Bergeron and Marchand — whether that be Kase, Bjork or even a younger player like Jack Studnicka. 

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Throughout the years, the Bruins have fared pretty well with just about any winger that has skated alongside Bergeron and Marchand.

For as much as a player like Danton Heinen often drew the ire of Bruins fans for his lack of offensive flash, the versatile winger fared pretty damn well last season when filling in for an injured Pastrnak during the 2018-19 season — with that grouping outscoring opponents, 11-4, in 197 minutes of 5v5 TOI together.

Bjork has had some success with Bergeron and Marchand in the past, with the trio outscoring opponents, 4-1, in close to 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time together, while a Marchand-Bergeron-Kase has been on the ice for a goal scored and two high-danger scoring chances in just 6:40 of 5v5 TOI together.

Ultimately, Boston's need for its big guns to start producing before the playoffs begin in earnest, I don't think Cassidy will opt for a drastic switch like this, especially with Boston not granted that much time to really tinker with its lineup. But, if Boston's offense continues to sputter, expect to see a player like Pastrnak earn some double shifts with both Bergeron and Krejci.

Nick Ritchie with Charlie Coyle: 

Even if his baseline numbers didn't exactly stand out on Wednesday against Tampa, Nick Ritchie (zero shots on goal in 17:01 of ice time) at least made his presence felt much more than a player like DeBrusk in Boston's last outing, often willing to mix it up after a stoppage in play and trade a few pushes against agitators like Blake Coleman.

Ritchie's size and snarl certainly has some value in this Bruins team, but is it best served next to a player like Krejci? While it remains to be seen how fills in at 2LW, Ritchie could perhaps be best utilized next to a bigger center like Coyle — with both skaters primarily working together with Sean Kuraly during Phase 3 workouts at Warrior Ice Arena.

Granted, the small sample size of Coyle + Ritchie together wasn't too encouraging ahead of the pause (38.46% shot share in 15:55 of ice time together), but if Ritchie is going to remain in this lineup, the right call is to put a quicker skater (Bjork, DeBrusk) next to Krejci to be the first man in on the forecheck and prolong O-zone possessions.

As for Jack Studnicka?

One name that has popped up occasionally in comments is a player like Studnicka, who, even with a few blips that are to be expected for a young forward, did manage to stand out during Boston's exhibition matchup against Columbus.

But, for now at least, expect Studnicka to be one of the last resorts for Boston when it comes to generating some scoring punch from its middle six.

"He generated a lot of our chances against Columbus," Cassidy said. "The other night, he got better as the game went on. He had a few booboos in the game that he’ll have to learn from. But let’s face it, we all made some mistakes the other night so he’s not going to be out of the lineup for that reason. He’s out of the lineup (Wednesday) because we feel that Ritchie and Kase were brought in to help us win in the playoffs ... That’s how it’s going to play out for Jack. I liked what I saw. Very encouraging for down the road. But his immediate situation is, he won’t play (Wednesday) and he’s going to be a depth guy for us and we may or may not have to use him."

OTHER NOTES: 

Here's the lineup Boston rolled out on Friday afternoon:

Marchand–Studnicka/Frederic–Pastrnak
DeBrusk–Lindholm–Kase/Senyshyn
Ritchie–Coyle-Bjork/Kuhlman
Nordstrom–Kuraly–Wagner

Chara–McAvoy
Krug–Carlo
Grzelcyk–Lauzon
Moore–Clifton
Zboril–Vaakanainen

Rask
Vladar
Lagace

Obviously, there are some major absences out there — with Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Jaroslav Halak all missing from the scheduled skate. While Cassidy said that all three are tabbed under the "unfit to participate" designation, he did add that he expects a full group will skate on Saturday up in Toronto. However, the B's bench boss did note that their absences is still a frustrating hinderance — given that the club has a limited amount of time to get players like Kase back up to speed and comfortable in a top-six role.

"We’re going to just coach through it and keep playing, and Ondrej is getting his reps at least with – he was going to be with Krech and DeBrusk today – so he gets some reps with Jake. Again, I look at it as the younger guys, if they’re forced in later for whatever reason, are getting reps with good players. There is always a benefit. We look at kind of the glass half full side of it. We anticipate tomorrow, we’ll have our full group. But until we do, we’ll keep trying to make it work.

"Obviously, this whole training camp we haven’t had lines together consistently. I think everyone is aware of that. It’s been discussed for different reasons. Will it affect us in the postseason? Time will tell. So right now, I guess to get back to your question, yeah, I’d like to see our group together. See what it looks like, first of all, all together. But until that happens, we’re just going to – like I said, fit people in where they – for practice or games if need be, where I best think they can help us and we’ll go from there."