Bruins Notebook: What to make of Bruins’ 4th line following Curtis Lazar’s injury

Well, it wouldn’t officially be hockey season if there wasn’t a late preseason injury that reshuffles the lineup. 

The Bruins’ fourth line is set to be without an expected regular in Curtis Lazar for a bit, as Bruce Cassidy announced on Friday morning that the north-south winger is sidelined with an upper-body injury. 

"He has an upper-body (injury) that is gonna require a little more time — because of the inflammation — to get an exact diagnosis,” Cassidy said. “But right now we're gonna list him as week to week and hopefully it's on the short end of that.”

Lazar — much like Boston’s checking unit as a whole — had his struggles this preseason, with the forward getting knocked in the first week of game action for a few costly turnovers. He improved with more reps, drawing some high marks from Cassidy for his increased physicality and effort in the offensive zone. 

But Lazar did take his lumps as a result of said physicality, slamming into the net on a drive into Grade-A ice during Wednesday’s preseason finale against Washington. 

While Lazar is on a bit of a longer timetable in terms of his recovery, the Bruins do have a number of options to turn to on a fourth line that will likely feature both Tomas Nosek and Trent Frederic to open the year — with Jack Studnicka, Chris Wagner, Karson Kuhlman and Anton Blidh all skaters still on the training-camp roster, but without a set spot in the lineup.

BSJ Analysis:

I know what you’re thinking, Bruins fans.

While we noted earlier today that Studnicka was likely going to fall victim to the number’s game and open the season in Providence, Lazar’s injury would seem to open the door for Studnicka to stick around in some capacity.  

Well, perhaps not. 

Even though the potential is there for Studnicka to cut his teeth as a speedy, two-way presence on the fourth line and be tasked with killing penalties, the Bruins might have different plans for the young forward. Based on Cassidy’s comments, it sure seems like the club would rather carve out a role for Studnicka further up on the depth chart — a role that currently isn’t available until a few other dominoes drop.  

“Well the conversation becomes — and I'll be very open —  we like our top nine right now. We really do,” Cassidy said. “There's no complaints on where they are. We weren't sure on Coyle coming into camp, health wise. So now he goes out and plays very well the other night.  He comes through it fine and is healthy and ready to go. So now you look at the bottom of the lineup — is that the best spot for Jack? Is that going to be the best for his development, is it best for the team and we'll answer those questions internally. And that's what he's up against. He's done everything we've asked. 

“And one of the things that I've liked about Jack is not always the production. Yeah, you want him to be a top-nine guy, because he’s played a lot stronger game. Played on his forehand, hasn't turned the puck over as much. His details away from the puck. Just talking to the assistant coaches, 'Did you guys find (any mistakes)? No, not a lot. Just a  few things here and there but not as much as in the past.' So he's put an emphasis on those other things, as opposed to maybe as a young guy coming in before and saying, 'Well, I gotta score to make the team.' Yeah, eventually if that's your role, you got to. 

“But if you can do the other things well, at least you get on the ice and get a chance to score — kind of goes hand in hand. That's how you build trust with your coaching staff and your teammates. So that part with Jack has gone very well. It's just the other guys have played well too. So it's one of those good problems to have. We'll sort through it this week and make a decision, but we're going to do what's best for the Bruins and what's best for Jack."

Perhaps a situation could arise in which Studnicka lands on the third line and a player like Erik Haula or Nick Foligno is slotted down to the checking unit in Lazar’s absence. But given the encouraging returns by both Haula and Foligno during preseason action (coupled with their veteran status), Studnicka leapfrogging them before regular-season play begins doesn’t seem like a realistic shuffle. 

As tough of a situation as it is for a guy in Studnicka who checked off plenty of boxes in terms of his preseason goals, the Bruins might feel more comfortable handing him top-six minutes down in the AHL to open the year, rather than 10-12 minutes on a checking unit that doesn’t mesh with play style. 

If that’s indeed the plan, then Wagner likely has the first dibs on those shifts at right wing with Lazar out, although Kuhlman also earned a healthy amount of shifts with Nosek and Frederic on Friday morning. 

A rotating cast

With David Krejci now in the Czech Republic, the Bruins have a vacancy in terms of their alternate captains — with Brad Marchand now the lone B’s skater with an “A” stitched into his sweater. So far this preseason, the Bruins have handed that second “A” to a number of younger players in the room, including Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and David Pastrnak.

And that trend looks like it’s going to carry on into the season. 

“We’re going to rotate. It’s situational. ... (Marchand) had certainly earned it and was in a place he could handle it,” Cassidy said. “I think right now, I think there’s a lot of guys that could handle it. We want to grow it a little bit because I think there’s different guys that can grow into that, and eventually, we’ll decide if it’s permanent or not. But right now, like I said, I think there’s different guys that can handle it and should have it.”