What to expect as John Moore makes his season debut

Defenseman John Moore is back in the lineup tonight after undergoing shoulder surgery which made him miss the beginning of this season.

Moore appeared in 61 games during the 2018-19 regular season and 10 playoffs games during the B’s Cup run.

But did he make a difference on the ice and what can we expect of him going forward?

Out of those 61 games, Moore was a minus player for 69% of the games.

But this is a new season and a new chance for Moore to prove himself on a stacked lineup of a team that is red hot right now. He’s entering his 9th season and will bring depth and some wiggle room to the bottom of the roster.

The season is long and time will tell if his shoulder injury will be completely healed or if he’ll make more contributions from the blue line as opposed to last year.

Moore saw a good chunk of ice time last year. He’s bounced between several teams during his career, so hopefully entering the second season of a five-year contract will give him more stability to improve on his game and positively impact the Bruins.

The key for Moore, however, is that there isn't a ton of room for error. As mentioned above, the Bruins' lineup is pretty deep. There's already an NHL-ready defenseman waiting in the wings in Connor Clifton, so Moore isn't going to have an extended chance to get up to speed.

Moore isn't likely to be a huge difference-maker, but he should provide some stability for the Bruins in the bottom half of their defense.

Still, it's worth asking: are the Bruins better with Moore in the lineup?