Bruins Notebook: B’s turn to Studnicka for scoring spark; Hall’s netfront role on power play set to expand

If you were to only look at the tape, you’d think that Boston’s reshuffled third line of Jake DeBrusk, Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar were checking off plenty of the boxes that Bruce Cassidy mapped out for them in terms of on-ice responsibilities.

With just 20 percent of their faceoffs during 5v5 play set in the offensive zone, DeBrusk-Haula-Lazar have often been tasked with putting out fires in Boston’s own end — an unenviable task that, all things considered, the trio has succeeded at (just one goal surrendered in their 42:31 of ice time).  

Lazar might be better suited for a fourth-line role, but his forechecking ability and pace have meshed well with Haula and DeBrusk — both of who have generated their fair share of chances in the offensive zone.

They only have two goals between them (both from DeBrusk), but DeBrusk (8.05) and Haula (6.77) rank fourth and eighth, respectively, on the B’s in 5v5 individual scoring chances per 60 minutes — ahead of names like Patrice Bergeron (6.32), Charlie Coyle (4.27) and Charlie McAvoy (3.4).

(Not sure if that’s a signal that DeBrusk/Haula are snakebit, or that guys like Coyle and Bergeron aren’t pulling their weight at 5v5 action).  

But for all of the snipes that have clanged off posts and Grade-A shots that have sailed wide, Cassidy can only give his lines so much rope if the tangible production isn’t there. 

And unfortunately, such has been the case for the DeBrusk-Haula-Lazar unit — with Boston still yet to light the lamp during their 42:31 of ice time together. 

With Boston’s secondary-scoring output still stuck in neutral, Cassidy appears ready to shake things up on his club’s bottom-six grouping — with Jack Studnicka potentially set to earn a look on the wing next to DeBrusk and Haula on Tuesday night against the Senators.

"We're considering it," Cassidy said following Monday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena. "That's what we looked at today in practice. We'll make a decision (Tuesday) morning. That line, offensively, has had some looks, hasn't finished. Maybe a different flavor there and (Lazar) back where he started (on the fourth line)."

Studnicka will certainly present a different look on that line, but his addition is also far from a proven remedy when it comes to cashing in on Grade-A looks — especially if the 22-year-old forward is going to be bumped from his preferred spot at center. 

Even though Studnicka earned a hefty portion of reps last season on the wing, Cassidy and the B’s have repeatedly stated their desire of keeping him down the middle this year — with Studnicka’s previous two games with the B’s this season coming at the 2C and 4C. 

You could make the case that Studnicka and Haula swapping spots at center and right wing is a more intriguing approach — but for now, the B’s will look for Studnicka to simplify and add some shot-first mentality to a line that seems as though it’s been on the verge of breaking through time and time again. 

“Learning curve last year having to do it," Studnicka said of playing on the wing. "But I've worked with the assistant coaches a lot in practice. ... certain situations, taking pucks off the wall. ... I'm a lot stronger this year so board battles should hopefully go in my favor."

Taylor Hall set to earn more responsibilities in netfront role 

For most of his career, Taylor Hall has planted himself at the elbow while on the man advantage — with the star winger capable of pushing the puck down low, zipping seam feeds across the slot or uncorking shots from Grade-A ice. 

But during Boston’s opening tally on Saturday night against the Maple Leafs, Hall sure looked the part as a capable netfront weapon on the power play — tipping a Bergeron bumper blast past Jack Campbell for his third goal of the season.

But postgame, a candid Hall (as he’s been for most of his press availabilities since joining the B’s) noted that such a play likely wouldn’t have come to fruition just a few days prior.

"It's just something that I'm getting used to that position on the power play," Hall said of his new netfront spot. "I think a few games ago I would have just gotten out of the way of the shot. I felt it was OK to try to get a stick on it."

In Cassidy’s system, the player at the netfront is more than just a monolith tasked with simply planting themselves at the crease in order to screen goalies and tip shots home. 

Instead, puck retrieval stands as the primary objective — with Hall’s wheels making him a natural candidate when it comes to beating the opposition to skittering biscuits and feeding them back up to guys like Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand.

So far, Cassidy has no issues with Hall in terms of that part of his power-play duties. But entrenching himself near the goal line when the B’s are operating the puck higher up in the O-zone will continue to be a work in progress for Hall — given his natural inclination to operate a  bit further away from the blue paint.  

"I think the important part for that is Bergy has a spot he likes to shoot. And I think he communicates that — so try to stay out of that part of the lane, but still try to take the goalie's eyes away," Cassidy said of Hall's thinking on Saturday's tally. "I think with Taylor, he's gotten farther away from the net there for a while. We talked to him about that, that it's a net presence first and then a drop-off, sort of run some things from there, second.

"I think his puck-recovery efforts have been there since day one. That's what we told him. That has to be first and foremost — if you don't recover pucks there to help keep power plays alive, then we're going to have to use somebody else because that's a very important job. Second is obviously making some plays from there if the puck does find his stick, and then being a net presence. And then entries. Entries were an issue for us against Toronto — both groups were not clean at all. Had that problem earlier in the season, so we got to clean that up."

As Hall continues to adapt and adjust to the netfront spot, Cassidy and the Bruins will look to feature him in more plays — a necessary step in order to give Boston's man advantage another avenue to generate offense.

When teams like Detroit and Toronto opted to shield Pastrnak at the elbow to take away his one-timer, the Bruins countered with a heaping portion of goals from Bergeron at the bumper.

But as more PK units adjust and start to drape skaters over Bergeron in the slot, it'll be incumbent on players like Hall down low and McAvoy up top to generate more looks with the added space afforded to them. 

"All in all, Taylor will find the rhythm of the netfront with Bergy's shot,  Pasta, maybe some back-post plays,'' said Cassidy. "We were out there today working on some plays for him around the net. Because eventually — it's Bergy they take away, it's Pasta they take away, it becomes the guy at the top and the guy at the bottom that teams will leave open. ... So that's kind of what we feel will be the next progression if teams start making those adjustments."

OTHER NOTES

Both Nick Foligno and Anton Blidh were full participants in practice on Monday, but Cassidy doesn’t believe that Foligno will get the green light to return from his upper-body injury until at least Thursday night against the Oilers. 

Foligno has not played since Oct. 20 in Philly— exiting midway through the B’s second game of the season due to an upper-body ailment. 

"I think he's itching to get in, but I think the medical team is looking at Thursday," Cassidy said of Foligno. "That will probably be a decision for (Tuesday) morning and how he responds after a full practice today - him and Blidh both in normal colors today. ... They usually want to get through a night, make sure there's no (setbacks) That's what I've been told — closer to Thursday, but maybe they'll change their mind on him."

Jeremy Swayman will get the start in net on Tuesday against Ottawa.