An energized & motivated Connor Clifton is paying major dividends for Bruins this postseason

Connor Clifton doesn’t spend much time dwelling on the past.

For as successful as 2019 was for the Quinnipiac product, the final months of last year did their best to undercut all of the breakthroughs the dynamic defenseman created for himself during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A dependable defenseman down in Providence at the start of the 2018-19 campaign, Clifton's assertive and bombastic style of play warranted a look up at the NHL ranks — an opportunity that the blueliner made the most of down the final stretch of the year. By the time the calendar flipped to playoff hockey, Clifton secured a regular role as Boston's sixth defenseman, forcing an impressive tandem alongside Matt Grzelcyk.

The following season was not as friendly for the 25-year-old skater — with an upper-body injury holding him out of the lineup from December until the second week of March.

By the time Clifton finally earned a spot back in the lineup, Jeremy Lauzon had supplanted him as Boston's last starting D, with the Quebec native's more reserved, stay-at-home style offering a different look from the smash-mouth mentality Clifton brings when he hops over the boards for a shift. Clifton's first game back from injury was Boston's 2-0 victory over the Flyers back on March 10 — the final game for Boston before the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to the regular season.

Starting minutes were going to be far from a guarantee for the young defenseman by the time Boston finally returned to the ice over four months later. But rather than waste time on what had been a string of bad luck in the previous months, Clifton opted to stay focused on the present.

"I’ve been ready," Clifton said Monday night. "I’ve been preparing physically and mentally for the past five months. It was just about getting an opportunity." 

On Saturday, the New Jersey native finally received such a shot from Bruce Cassidy and the B's coaching staff. Fair to say, he's made the most of it.



Stuck in a 1-1 draw through the first two games of their best-of-seven series with the Hurricanes, Boston was in need of a spark entering Saturday's Game 3 matchup at Scotiabank Arena. A flat showing from his club prompted Cassidy to shuffle up both his forward lines and D corps, with Clifton replacing Lauzon on the blue line.

Clifton didn't show much rust in his first official playoff outing since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, doling out five hits over 13:19 of ice time in Boston's 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 3. He was only just getting started.

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Monday's Game 4 matchup saw Clifton continue to throw his weight around against the Canes (three hits), but when "Cliffy Hockey" is in a groove, he's far more than just a bull in a china shop.

Just seconds after Charlie McAvoy trucked Jordan Staal into next week, Clifton bottled that shift in momentum into a determined rush through neutral ice. With Martin Necas closing in, Clifton flipped the puck into Carolina's end — dropping a charging Necas to the ice just seconds later.

Boston's fourth line went to work following Clifton's dump-in move. As Chris Wagner pinned Jake Gardiner along the end boards, Joakim Nordstrom managed to recover the biscuit. Shaking off Morgan Geekie with a quick pivot, Nordstrom carried the puck out from behind Carolina's net, prompting James Reimer to seal off the post. But Nordstrom wasn't looking for a shot down low, especially with Par Lindholm tied up with Nino Niederreiter in the crease.

Rather, Nordstrom lofted the puck out to an unchecked Clifton, who, jumping up from the blue, uncorked a missile that picked the top far-side corner. Down by a pair of goals just a few minutes prior, Clifton's first tally since Nov. 19, 2019 made it a 2-2 game.

 



"We challenged the D after the first period to be more involved offensively in terms of helping create offense and get your shot through and work in the offensive blue line well," Cassidy said. "So Cliffy, he wanted to let the coaching staff and myself personally that he can do it and they can get the job done, so I was very happy for him. I mean, he's come into the lineup, hasn't played a lot of hockey, couple points tonight, big goal for us. And that fourth line, Nordy deserves to be rewarded, they played hard, been really really good for us and nice to see them get on the score sheet as well."

Beyond the expected lift that an engaged Clifton brings this club when he's active down both ends of the ice, the underlying numbers for the young defenseman have been downright absurd since Cassidy opted to swap him in for Lauzon ahead of Game 3.

In his two games against Carolina so far this postseason, Clifton has logged 24:12 of 5v5 ice time, with plenty of those reps actually alongside Zdeno Chara (11:56).

During that over 24 minutes of ice time, the Bruins hold a commanding lead in:

Shot attempts: 26-10
Shots on goal: 14-4
Goals scored: 2-0
Scoring chances: 17-4
High-danger scoring chances: 7-1

That's awfully impressive, with Clifton's strong play alongside Chara (76.4% shot share in those 11 minutes) also freeing up Chara's regular D partner in Charlie McAvoy to play alongside more dynamic skaters such as Grzelcyk or Torey Krug.

He may not log as many minutes as guys like McAvoy, Krug or Brandon Carlo, but Clifton certainly makes the most of the ice time allotted to him, especially since given the nod back on Saturday.

It's true, 2020 hasn't exactly worked gone the way Clifton had envisioned it (a sentiment we all likely share). But with Boston looking for a shot in the arm, "Cliffy Hockey" seems to have returned just when the Bruins needed it the most.