23-24 Bruins Season Thread
- Thread starter cshea
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There is no way to know, right.
But a knock on Bertuzzi even in Boston last year was that he sometimes seemed like he was the slowest player on the ice not wearing goalie gear and that whatever skills he had were dangerously close to not mattering that much at the speed he was playing.
I don't know many of the details of why he is floundering in Toronto, but I also will not be shocked if he seems pretty pedestrian in the future.
Make of this what you will, but it seems to at least confirm that Bertuzzi is pretty slow. (I guess I actually thought some of these numbers would be worse though.)
Zacha and McAvoy are back at practice today. Looks like Poitras getting another night off on Wednesday.
Marchand - Zacha - Pastrnak
Heinen - Coyle - DeBrusk
van Riemsdyk - Geekie - Frederic
Lauko - Beecher - Steen
Grzelyck - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Lohrei - Shattenkirk
They've been saying this is all load management for Poitras and his TOI generally backs that up. He got benched for the 3rd against Arizona but otherwise has had pretty consistent TOI's. Every now and again Monty shortens the bench and Poitras dips to like 10 minutes but by and large he plays 12-14 minutes consistently.
Canada left an open roster spot on their WJC team in case the Bruins or Sabres let Poitras or Zach Benson go. The Bruins say they haven't made a decision on that yet. Personally, I don't let him go. There may have been a bit of a speed bump for Poitras recently but he bounced back and doesn't look overwhelmed and in need of a confidence boost. I think these healthy scratchers really are load management for a 19-year old who's never played more than 70 games in a season. Sending him off to play ~10 games elsewhere kind of defeats the purpose.
Marchand - Zacha - Pastrnak
Heinen - Coyle - DeBrusk
van Riemsdyk - Geekie - Frederic
Lauko - Beecher - Steen
Grzelyck - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Lohrei - Shattenkirk
They've been saying this is all load management for Poitras and his TOI generally backs that up. He got benched for the 3rd against Arizona but otherwise has had pretty consistent TOI's. Every now and again Monty shortens the bench and Poitras dips to like 10 minutes but by and large he plays 12-14 minutes consistently.
Canada left an open roster spot on their WJC team in case the Bruins or Sabres let Poitras or Zach Benson go. The Bruins say they haven't made a decision on that yet. Personally, I don't let him go. There may have been a bit of a speed bump for Poitras recently but he bounced back and doesn't look overwhelmed and in need of a confidence boost. I think these healthy scratchers really are load management for a 19-year old who's never played more than 70 games in a season. Sending him off to play ~10 games elsewhere kind of defeats the purpose.
I'm not sure I totally agree but I guess Geekie playing well at center gives them cover for a couple of weeks.
I just didn't think Poitras needs a confidence boost. Resting and load management I get.
I just didn't think Poitras needs a confidence boost. Resting and load management I get.
I really don’t think this is a good idea. He’ll probably need more load management when he gets back.
From a team management standpoint I tend to agree with you.
From a personnel management standpoint, I think I am glad they let him go. It should be a good experience for the kid, and sometimes long term gains (both professionally and personally) outweigh short term organizational stuff.
Not sure if that made any sense, but I am happy for the kid that he gets to go.
It did and I totally agree
Might even give the front office a bit of good will with other players if they see they're willing to "work" with guys like this
Might even give the front office a bit of good will with other players if they see they're willing to "work" with guys like this
They did the same thing with Pastrnak twice. His rookie year he started in Providence, played about 6 games in the NHL around Thanksgiving and early December, sent him to the WJC's and then he essentially finished the year in Boston. Pasta's 2nd year he started in Boston, then missed time with injury and rehab. Played 3 games for Providence then the WJC's before returning to Boston. Guess that one worked out OK.
Zacha is back and Geekie has played well at center so I see the logic. He'll have a good time and dominating his age group will be good from a development and confidence standpoint. But there's a bit of a disconnect when they say "load management" and then send him off to play more games and presumably more minutes.
Zacha is back and Geekie has played well at center so I see the logic. He'll have a good time and dominating his age group will be good from a development and confidence standpoint. But there's a bit of a disconnect when they say "load management" and then send him off to play more games and presumably more minutes.
The Bruins seem like they will make the playoffs.
If Poitras is healthy at that point and this experience helps with his development, then fine.
If Poitras is healthy at that point and this experience helps with his development, then fine.
I’m ok with the decision to send Poitras to the WJC - hopefully he has a great time, relaxes his grip a little and dominates. He’ll miss 10-12 NHL games but will still have plenty of time to get integrated back into the Bruins. (It will be interesting to see whether he comes back with a jump in his step, how Montgomery chooses to deploy him, and what type of adjustments he makes when he’s back on the ice with the stronger and older NHL players). He’ll get more ice time at the WJCs but it won’t be as wearing as the NHL games he’ll miss. It shortens his season of NHL-grind games and for his 19 year old body that’s probably a good thing.
Given Geekie’s showing on the first line and Heinen’s steady play up and down the lineup I feel like the Bruins will be fine without Poitras for a dozen games.
I wonder if they’ll use any of the time to give Merkulov a spin at wing - he’s been playing really well in the AHL. It would reward him for strong play and give him an idea of what he’d need to work on to crack the squad permanently next year.
It also lets the Bruins continue this trial run of bigger centers up and down the lineup. They could roll Zacha/Coyle/Geekie/Beecher out against some of the more physical teams (load management games for Poitras). I think JVR/Geekie/Frederic could end up controlling play much like JVR/Coyle/Freddy.
Once Poitras is back it could be that Heinen is able to slide back down to the 4th line with Lauko & Beecher and they could end up with 4 solid lines.
Given Geekie’s showing on the first line and Heinen’s steady play up and down the lineup I feel like the Bruins will be fine without Poitras for a dozen games.
I wonder if they’ll use any of the time to give Merkulov a spin at wing - he’s been playing really well in the AHL. It would reward him for strong play and give him an idea of what he’d need to work on to crack the squad permanently next year.
It also lets the Bruins continue this trial run of bigger centers up and down the lineup. They could roll Zacha/Coyle/Geekie/Beecher out against some of the more physical teams (load management games for Poitras). I think JVR/Geekie/Frederic could end up controlling play much like JVR/Coyle/Freddy.
Once Poitras is back it could be that Heinen is able to slide back down to the 4th line with Lauko & Beecher and they could end up with 4 solid lines.
It will be interesting to see how he raises his game in playoff-like conditions. I don't mind the move to send him to WJC. Let him go compete and obviously hope he comes home healthy.
I *think* that the load being managed might just be "NHL games" as much as it is pure ice time/games. I'm not saying he wants to win any more or less in the WJC, but being away from the moment-to-moment intensity of the NHL probably counts as a form of load management.
Would agree here. Overall the risk of him getting hurt is too much for me to be fully onboard with it, but in reality with a good playoff position set the risk isn't huge, and that good will probably helps a bit come time for contract 2. Gonna suck when another center goes down and they're shifting guys around to run Pat Brown out there again
For anyone following Providence, has Merkulov played primarily center or wing so far this season?
Is he more likely to get hurt in the WJC than playing for the Bruins getting run every game because the refs don't call penalties against the Bruins' opponents?
Fun fact that the likely 1a and 1b centers for the Canadian squad will be Poitras and Conor Geekie - Morgan’s brother who was drafted 11th overall by Arizona last year.
The more I think about it the more I think it’s going to be good for him. Outside of the points previously made, playing with the Bs this season is probably the first time in his life he’s not “the man” on his team. It’s got to be jarring, especially for someone that young that probably hasn’t experienced it. He’s been pushed around. He can’t do what he wants with the puck all the time. A handful of games playing against similar competition could do wonders for him to remind him how skilled he is when he asserts himself. I can’t see a downside to it
And he gets to add what he's learned on the fly in the NHL so far to his skillset. IOW, if he doesn't dominate the WJC, he's a failure.
Lysell went last year and went 0-0=0 in 7 games including a game misconduct along the way. Box score / eye test people declared it a flop, the analytics people said he actually played well.
I’m officially worried, notwithstanding the standings. I think that the win total is pumped by two goalies absolutely standing on their heads, to the tune of a 12 goal differential between their expected goal differential and actual goal differential. CF% is 49.5. Last year, CF% was 51.5% and their expected goal differential was even more crazy (59 goal differential). I think that’s less likely than not to be sustainable against playoff teams in playoff series.
I think you're right about the goalies standing on their heads. But, before the season, I think there was some consensus around these parts that: 1) by keeping both goalies and filling roster holes with various low cost options (young and old), the team was, more than most do, going only as far as the goalies would take them (that is, the goalies weren;t going to get "bailed out" by their teammates very often); and 2) the goalies and the team were probably still playoff caliber, but *probably* not deep playoff. I think the insane levels that Sway-Mark have reached in the first part of the season pushed them to a top spot in the East. Anything is possible, so maybe the goalies keep it up. But probably not. I expect them still to make the playoffs comfortably. Beyond that, though, it wil be tough sledding. Ultimately, what most expected in September from this roster.
Lots of new and young players that haven’t played with or practiced together. The defense is very good and the goaltending is great. I think this team has the chance to get better as the season progresses. JDB might find his touch, etc.
A team with goalie standing on his head and timely scoring can advance in the playoffs. Happens all the time.
A team with goalie standing on his head and timely scoring can advance in the playoffs. Happens all the time.
I'm a bit worried too -- but remember that the trade deadline is yet to come -- we will have a better idea as to whether the FO thinks this team is capable of winning it all then, and depending on what they decide and then hopefully go out and get, our collective prognostications may well change.
I wouldn’t use this trade deadline as a barometer of how management feels about the club, as they really can’t do much without cap space, early round picks, or highly valued prospects. It would have to be a “hockey trade” and those tend to happen in the summer.
I guess I don't understand what everyone is "worried" about here. What were the expectations coming into this season? This is a limited team with a top tier nucleus that's a year away from being able to acquire the parts for a legit playoff run. I just want to see them compete, maybe develop a young internal player or two, and be a tough out (not to the Leafs) in the playoffs. I feel great about that right now.
Don't let last year's impossible standards set the bar.
Don't let last year's impossible standards set the bar.
There's a weird expectation now (with the Celtics as well) where teams should play perfect games every game in the regular season. I really don't understand it when everyone just judges the team by their playoff performance anyway. Like Florida was fucking awful for most of the regular season last year, and obviously the Bruins were almost perfect. And frankly let's not forget having two rookie centers is extremely rare and it's amazing they're in 1st place with that.
The regular season is a journey. As long as they are giving effort, staying relatively healthy, and amassing enough points to make the playoffs, I'm good.
Last season and expectations of perfection have nothing to do with it. I think that the Bruins’ underlying play overall, this season, is worse than their results currently show, and I don’t expect that to be sustainable, especially in the playoffs. I think that’s pretty straightforward.
My comment was more general and not directed at you. But to directly respond to your post, it's nuts to worry about anything about their play in December in connection to how it translates to their play in April/May. The only time to worry is if you think it would lead them to miss the playoffs, and we've got a long way to go before that's an issue. Otherwise I haven't seen anything to show that anyone's play before the new year is correlated with how they perform in the playoffs. Heck even teams play the weeks before the playoffs start isn't predictive.
(Back to generalizing) We have a culture in American sports now where the success of any team is measured by playoff performance (rightly or wrongly). So to me, especially in non NFL sports, worrying about regular season play just becomes irrelevant and a waste unless it impacts making the playoffs. I'd actually prefer a model where the regular season matters more so I could care about these games more deeply, but alas it's just not the case.
Their underlyings aren't great but they also aren't bad. The goalies have won them more games than the underlyings would say they deserve but I also don't think they're total smoke and mirrors. They are basically north of 50% or thereabouts in most categories at 5x5. At 5x5, their xGF/60 is 2.66 their xGA/60 is 2.63. Last year those were 2.78 and 2.43. The biggest dip is the defense which can largely be attributed to losing Bergeron. They've also had a rotating cast of characters on defense for most of the season and haven't played much with the top-6 healthy. Another issue is they spend the 2nd most time per game shorthanded in the league. That needs to be cleaned up.
It's somewhat funny though because I feel the opposite about sustainability in the playoffs. To me, when you get into a short series you throw the underlyings out the window. The cream will rise based on underlyings over 82 games but in a short series all that goes in the garbage. Like the Islanders series a few years ago when they dominated the underlyings and lost in 6. Or the Senators series in Cassidy's first year. Or the 2nd round series against the Habs in 2014.
It's somewhat funny though because I feel the opposite about sustainability in the playoffs. To me, when you get into a short series you throw the underlyings out the window. The cream will rise based on underlyings over 82 games but in a short series all that goes in the garbage. Like the Islanders series a few years ago when they dominated the underlyings and lost in 6. Or the Senators series in Cassidy's first year. Or the 2nd round series against the Habs in 2014.
I’m just happy they’re competitive and might have a couple young centers who, while they may not be 1C material, look like they can contribute cheaply at the position for 4-6 years. That helps the future outlook a ton in terms of needed pieces to fill out the roster.
I do realize my response/position doesn’t lead to fun discussion during the season because my answer just ends up being “wait until April” which isn’t exactly leading to more conversation.
This year I’m much more interested in the macro picture of the younger players and individual performance/progress than the team results. I do agree they are not nearly the same team as last year and their points total is probably a little overinflated (but not a lot).
This year I’m much more interested in the macro picture of the younger players and individual performance/progress than the team results. I do agree they are not nearly the same team as last year and their points total is probably a little overinflated (but not a lot).
Good writeup on Poitras and what his coaches and new teammates think of him at the World Junior camp.
Poitras channels Marner as he slots in as Canada's top-line centre
Poitras channels Marner as he slots in as Canada's top-line centre
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This is what I’ve always assumed what his break was about, good for him. I’ve loved him as the voice of the B’s, and you can tell he loves it. That being said, there is no way NESN can let the guy call games for “years.” For whatever reason causing it, he physically can’t call a full game coherently anymore, and that is what he is precisely there to do. There is no way the people running the network can’t see/hear that. NESN feels like they run things old school, and I’m really worried they will let him call games for as long as he wants because “he’s earned it.” This also makes me think there hasn’t even been a discussion with him. This really needs to be his last year, it could be really ugly if he continues to decline calling a game
Well if NESN would replace Sophia Jurksztowicz and the Blackhawks would ship Andreas Athanasiou to the KHL Jack would be fine.