Coming off of Thursday’s shootout win, the Bruins take on the Devils again this afternoon at 1:00 PM. You can watch the game on NESN or listen to it on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Some of the key players in last nights win including Charlie Mcavoy, Kevan Miller, and Brad Marchand. If we can get the same physically from Miller and Mcavoy, along with the production from Marchand the B’s could easily improve to 2-0.
Something that stood out to me was the offensive production from young defenseman Matt Grzeclyk. He had 6 shots on goal along with an assist. This is something the Bruins desperately need with how young and thin their defensive core is.
Another young guy who stepped up was Jack Studnicka. He played pretty good on the first line with Bergeron and Marchard. Wasn’t expecting him to play too good, but he was impressive.
Overall, it was a solid, complete performance from this team and they’ll keep improving from here. Tuukka Rask played great and made multiple huge saves to keep the game alive in the overtime period.
KEYS TO THE GAME
- Keep the physicality – Like I mentioned before, Charlie Mcavoy and Kevan Miller had some key plays in the game that turned the momentum.
- Get ahead early – This is always important, but especially for the Bruins. Last year they were 26-7-8 when scoring first.
- Block shots – If shots can’t get through to the net, they do no harm. Don’t leave it up to Rask to steal the game
The execution of these will be key to winning this game. Getting ahead early, especially against this Devils team – can win the game. Blocking shots and being physical will do 2 of these things – frustrate the opponent, and generate momentum. That’s big because if the opponents frustrated, they’ll start going off their game and doing things wrong.
INJURY REPORT
BRUINS
Steven Kampfer – OUT
Craig Smith – WILL PLAY
DEVILS
Nico Hischier – OUT
PROJECTED LINES
Offense
Marchand – Bergeron – Bjork
Debrusk – Krejci – Kase
Ritchie – Coyle – Smith
Frederic – Kuraly – Wagner
Defense
Lauzon – Mcavoy
Grzelcyk – Carlo
Zboril – Miller
Goalie
Halak