Alright, the season is now fully underway. The rust should be shaken off by now; hell, most the bottom six isn’t even OLD enough to grow rust. If you checked the roster, you would be forgiven if you thought it was still the preseason. The kids are getting their chances - could it be on purpose?!?!
[NO.]
What we have here so far is some nagging concern from a hernia injury (which is no joke, believe me), a quasi-freak-illness, a big ol’ bruise, and an accidental friendly-fire collision. Recoverable? Yes. It’s too early to freak out.
Just The Facts:
What: The Boston Bruins host the Vancouver Canucks. Hey, look, an AHL crossover game!
When: 7:00 PM EST
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Why do you care: The B’s could return to .500 with a win, which may not seem like much at this point in the season, but it’d sure be better than a losing record.
Where to put your eyes: NESN, TVAS, SN360
Where to put your ears: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Game Notes:
- The injuries on the Bruins will truly make this resemble an AHL game; it’s not just Vancouver that’s running on fumes right out of the gate.
- The kids are certainly getting their shot; let’s just hope it’s a first-month trial period. This should be a good opportunity for coach Bruce Cassidy to roll four lines and spread out playing time. Zane McIntyre was called up in the middle of the night, presumably so he could crash on somebody’s floor in Boston before the game. Peter Cehlarik and Kenny Agostino were promoted at the expense of Austin Czarnik and Danton Heinen.
- Joking aside in the intro, we really aren’t sure as of writing the status of Tuukka Rask or Adam McQuaid. Let’s not dwell on it for today.
- Despite their struggles, the Bruins are just outside the Top 10 in possession-driven play (CF% @51.71), so it would seem that they control the puck a bit more than their opponents. (They’re also not very far above ‘neutral’, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here.)
- Speaking of rested, let’s also hope Chuckie didn’t pull out his back doing some yardwork for David Backes.
- Stay tuned for pregame skate updates as we keep an eye on the status of Rask and Patrice Bergeron, who have no real timetable. Let’s not hold our breath on Darth Quaider or David Backes for tonight’s game.
A building block game, this is. Let’s go, Bruins!