In his first Zoom interview as a member of the Boston Bruins, Taylor Hall made sure to tamper expectations.
It's often a bit striking when a pro athlete candidly delves into their own flaws, especially one with the resume that Hall boasts over his 11-year career as a former No. 1 overall pick and a Hart Trophy winner.
But after toiling away on a sordid Sabres club for the first four months of the 2021 season — and seeing his on-ice production tank as a result (two goals, 19 points in 37 games) — Hall admitted that patience might be needed as the veteran winger attempted to build his game back with his fourth club in two years.
“Unfortunately, right now, I’m not the most confident hockey player,” Hall said. “Throughout this year, there have been a lot of struggles and obviously, goal scoring has been the biggest one. I’ve got to find a little bit of that part of my game back. I don’t think it’s completely lost or anything like that. But I’m not expecting to come and score 93 points in Boston again. I want to be a part of a winning team and whatever I have to do to do that, that’s what I’m here to do. I still believe in myself a lot as a hockey player. In saying that, I still believe I have a lot of athleticism and a lot of speed and I hope I can add to the team with those traits.”
Indeed, Hall may not be the tour-de-force that he was during that Hart Trophy campaign in 2018 — but the Bruins (while certainly receptive to said return to stardom) don't need him to be. Rather, they just need the 29-year-old to play to his level as a viable top-six weapon next to David Krejci — solving a years-long vacancy that has dragged this Original Six franchise down season after season and tanked even the most promising playoff runs.
And so far, he's lived up to those expectations — and then some. For all of his comments regarding his confidence (or lack thereof) before donning a black-and-gold sweater, Hall's refreshing and transparent thoughts on Monday certainly haven't carried over onto the TD Garden ice.
After lighting the lamp just twice with Buffalo (in 691:04 of ice time), it took Hall just a little over 35 minutes of on-ice reps to equal that scoring mark with the Bruins — with Hall finding twine for the second time in as many nights en route to Boston's 3-0 victory over the Islanders on Friday night.
Hall's tally on Friday — the byproduct of another transition sequence in which Hall tapped the biscuit home past Ilya Sorokin off of a give-and-go sequence with David Krejci — gave Boston all the insurance it would need in what was another convincing victory over a fellow East contender in New York, mirroring Hall's third-period strike in Thursday's victory that broke up a one-goal game and handed his new club some breathing room.
https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383215220194123779
For all of the talk of Hall's best days being behind him (an odd discourse for a 29-year-old skater mired some truly heinous teams), the eye test certainly says otherwise when it comes to Hall's initial set of games in Boston.
“I didn’t know much about Taylor beside from playing against him,” David Pastrnak said of his new teammate. “I think he’s an elite player. Really great to have him, and he’s proving it the last couple games. He’s been unbelievable. He’s a great skater, and we all know that his skill level is really high. It’s good to watch him, too, and learn some things from him. It’s been really nice to have him and he’s been, obviously, playing unbelievable for us so far. We’re really happy to have him here.”
While the optics of Hall getting off the schenid with two goals in three games with Boston is certainly reassuring (and likely a huge weight off of his shoulders), perhaps the most positive development is that Boston's latest top-six weapon is not just generating his chances solely off of defensive miscues or home-run plays — but rather due to sustained O-zone time and strong chemistry alongside his linemates in Craig Smith and Krejci, who might be the happiest man in the Commonwealth over the past week.
Although they've only logged 29:00 of 5v5 ice time together so far, the Hall-Krejci-Smith line has routinely carved up its opponents through three games, with Boston holding the edge in:
Shot attempts: 31-26
Shots on goal: 18-8
Goals scored: 2-0
High-danger scoring chances: 6-2
Having a shot-first winger who's strong on the boards in Smith has also helped that second line finish more looks and extend time in the opponent's end of the ice, but Hall's details have also been noticeable besides just his transition game and passing talent — which we hammered home when breaking down why the winger was already looking like a steal without playing one game with the Bruins.
Hall's wheels make him a scoring threat when pushing the puck over the offensive blue line, but that speed in O-zone has also allowed him to routinely beat out skaters to loose pucks and funnel the biscuit back to his two forwards for more quality looks. Again, those plays — or sequences like his last-second backcheck that prevented an OT goal for Buffalo on Tuesday — may not end up on the stat sheet, but they make a sizable impact on Boston's chances to consistently pile on points in the standings.
https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383227687758565381
"When he walked off, it was, 'Hey you helped us win. That's what we brought you in for," Bruce Cassidy said of Hall's early impressions on Thursday. "Helped us win the other night; I thought it was a great backcheck, defensive effort in front of our net that led to the second goal that Smith ended up scoring where he helped on the rush. And (Thursday) it was extending a lead with a big goal for us, among other things. But those were big plays he made. One was a defensive one, one was an offensive one. Both of them helped us win a game, and that's what he's here for: Help us win a game and do your job. And he did."
For as much as Hall's offensive capabilities and star talent were much-needed in this Bruins lineup, you could make the case that Hall was just as desperate to find a team like the Bruins — a stable, veteran-led franchise poised to help take him to just his third playoff run in his 11-year career.
No longer saddled with the expectations of being the savior of downtrodden or rebuilding teams like the Oilers, Devils, Coyotes and Sabres, Hall is simply just a cog in a greater scheme of things on this Bruins team. And so far, all of the pieces are falling into place.
"It’s been cool,” Hall said. “There’s something different about playing for an Original Six franchise like the Bruins. There’s a culture here that is special, and it’s a credit to the guys that have been here for a while that have created that. "Guys like myself, Curtis and Mike, we come in and we’re just a piece of the puzzle. That’s the motto here, and it’s pretty easy to see. No matter who’s in the lineup, who’s playing, who’s getting a lot of minutes, who’s not, it’s up to everyone to do their job and contribute, and it’s been fun doing that so far.”
