Ryan: Why Jack Studnicka deserves more reps at center in Bruins' lineup, even once David Krejci returns

The Bruins are faced with a good problem to have down the middle.

After a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury, David Krejci could very well find himself back in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Capitals at TD Garden — with the veteran second-line pivot serving as a full participant during Boston's practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday.

"Full team practice, did everything," Bruce Cassidy said of Krejci's potential availability on Wednesday. "So I've got to get together with the medical team and then they'll better assess how he did today. But until tomorrow morning comes, we will make a decision because there could be residual effect. ... So until he feels good the following day after a skate, it's tough to say. I would put Krejci in that category. So tomorrow morning, I'll have a better idea."

Not only does Krejci's potential return offer more stability in Boston's top-six unit, it also creates a positive domino effect down the rest of Boston's pipeline of centers — with Charlie Coyle afforded easier matchups in the bottom six. But with Coyle regaining his usual spot at 3C, where exactly does Jack Studnicka fit into the equation?

With just 12 games of NHL experience under his belt, the 22-year-old Studncika — pressed into service as Boston's 3C during Krejci's absence — was never going to hold onto his current spot in the lineup once Krejci is given the green light to return.

But even with Boston's top three forward lines presumably set at the pivot position, that doesn't mean that Studnicka is necessarily going to be bumped back out of position on the wing, at least not right now.

Studnicka still has plenty to work on when it comes to rounding out his game over at the NHL level. But when it comes to getting the most out of Boston's top prospect, Cassidy is fully cognizant that Studnicka's been at his best when playing at his natural position down the middle.

The proof is in the numbers.



With the quartet of Patrice Bergeron, Krejci, Coyle and Sean Kuraly locking down the center position entering the 2021 season, Studnicka's only avenue to crack the NHL lineup was to skate on the wing,

The returns were uneven, as expected for a youngster both learning on the fly up in the pros and skating out of position. Even when Studnicka's speed was utilized in a simple forechecking role, Boston often found itself behind the eight-ball when the rookie was out on the wing.

In Studnicka's first six games of the 2021 season (70:04 of 5v5 ice time — almost exclusively on the wing), the Bruins trailed in...

Shot attempts: 65-47
Shots on goal: 37-21
Goals scored: 3-1
Scoring chances: 33-21
High-danger scoring chances: 13-4

...when Studnicka was out on the ice.

Far from ideal, considering that most of those reps were spread out amongst minutes with playmaking pivots like Bergeron, Krejci and Coyle.

The circumstances that prompted Cassidy to push Studnicka back over to center were far from ideal (an injury to Krejci), but the green skater flashed some potential in his first look down the middle over at Lake Tahoe — keeping a puck in the Flyers' zone during an attempted clear and deceptively sliding a crisp feed over to David Pastrnak for the sniper's third goal of the evening.



Whether it be more open ice down the middle or just general comfort level, Studnicka has certainly elevated his play since moving back to center, serving as one of the bright spots in what has been an uneven stretch for the B's.

Over Studnicka's last four games as center (50:00 of 5v5 ice time), the Bruins still trail in shot attempts (52-46), but now hold the edge in ...

Shots on goal: 31-25
Goals scored: 3-0
Scoring chances: 24-19
High-danger scoring chances: 13-9

Much better, especially on a line with a lot of youth with Trent Frederic and a slumping Jake DeBrusk.

https://twitter.com/emarinofsky/status/1366101953202249729

So, yes, Studnicka might get kicked out of the 3C spot once Krejci returns and Coyle is subsequently pushed down the depth chart. But Cassidy isn't planning on moving Studnicka back to the wing any time soon.

"He's a center first," Cassidy said of Studnicka. "We've kind of discussed this — that there wasn't a lot of room for him to play in the middle as our lineup was constructed. Could we move people around to accommodate him? Absolutely. Were we prepared to do that? At the start of the season, no. So we liked our three right-shot centers and Kuraly's the fourth. Krech goes out —we've always said it — if Krech, Bergy or Coyle go out, let's try to get Jack in there in the middle and see how he's he's developed and progressed and the opportunity presented itself. So now — we liked what he did. He played very well in the middle. More noticeable in the middle than he was on the wing, for obvious reasons, I think."

As such, Studnicka will now be handed the keys to Boston's fourth line, centering a checking group alongside Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner — among others.

It's a bit of a different ask for Studnicka in terms of his overall role in the lineup, as Cassidy often tends to prescribe heavy D-zone starts for his fourth line in order to wear down an opposing top-six grouping and hand easier matchups to Bergeron and Co.

But with Boston's fourth line lagging this season, inserting Studnicka into the equation is certainly worth a look — especially if he continues to play at this current level.

"He's back in the middle and if Krech is healthy, we're still going to keep him in the middle," Cassidy said of Studnicka. "Because we liked what he did and move Kuraly to the wing and just sort of reevaluate our fourth line sort of role or what it looks like a little bit and see where it goes.

"Is it ideal for Jack to be a fourth-line center? I don't always like to number the centers, so he's got to play his game in the middle no matter what, no matter who his wingers are. He just might see different starts — there might be more in his own end. He's got Sean, who can take face offs in the left dot, so this will be good for his defensive game as well. So we'll see how he adapts to it and then we'll go accordingly if he can play with a different style of players like a Wagner or might be Bjork, Kuraly whatever, as opposed to when he was with Frederic and DeBrusk.

Other Notes

Krejci was not the only other regular to return to the ice at Warrior on Tuesday, as Matt Grzelcyk also skated without restrictions — returning to his regular spot this season on Boston's second D pair alongside Brandon Carlo. However, similar to Krejci, Cassidy is not going to give Grzelcyk the all clear until he finds out how the blueliner responds on Wednesday morning.

Recent waiver pick-up Jared Tinordi also made his debut with his new club, skating on a third pairing with Connor Clifton. Tinordi could play on Wednesday to help counter a physical Capitals team, but some of that remains up in the air with Grzelcyk's status.

"Obviously, met his protocols to get on the ice and practice," Cassidy said of Tinordi. "So his tests are great in that regard. ... So, yeah, he's available to us. And we'll see tomorrow, I'm not going to tell you today he's in or not in. We'll have a conversation with him. See how he responds. He hasn't been on the ice a lot. He did drive a long way. But he may be ready to go. So I'm not going to rule him out. But I'm not gonna say he's definitely in — some of that also depends too on Grizz. He skated. How's he feeling? Is he ready to go tomorrow? So some of the other bodies that are available to us, even though they're different players, obviously ...  some of it will be a domino effect once we do find out from Grizz."

The only two absences on Tuesday were Kevan Miller and Ondrej Kase, with Cassidy remaining hopeful that Miller could return to the ice in short order after suffering a setback with his surgically repaired knee last month.

"He's off — he's here, he's doing off-ice (work)," Cassidy said of Miller. "Obviously will not be in the lineup tomorrow. Once he's back on, I'll give you a definite idea once he starts practicing with the team on when he would be available. I think the hope is, as the week goes on, he gets out there with us and then see where that leads, game-wise."

If you're looking for some semblance of good news, Kase — who hasn't played since Jan. 16 due to an upper-body injury — did skate prior to Tuesday's practice with Bruins skills and skating coaching Kim Brandvold. It's a step in the right direction for Kase, but until he joins the team for a full squad practice — be it a red or white jersey — the 25-year-old winger still has quite the uphill climb.

"I don't have an answer to that, sorry," Cassidy said when asked of a timetable for Kase's return. "I'm glad he was out. It's good to see him back out there, but I have not been told when he'll join the group."

Here are Boston's lines from Tuesday's skate:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Ritchie-Krejci-DeBrusk
Frederic-Coyle-Smith
Kuraly-Studnicka-Wagner
Bjork - McKegg

Zboril-McAvoy
Grzelcyk-Carlo
Tinordi-Clifton
Vaakanainen-Moore
Kampfer

Rask
Halak
Booth