B’sget the ‘ball rolling’
‘Scrap’ with Jets helps B’s find offensive mojo
It’s been a few days since the Bruins’ resounding win in Winnipeg but it seems, even as they returned home for a quick home game in a back-to-back on Tuesday night, it’s still created ripple effects.
The fight-filled affair Friday night was the perfect response to a physical Jets squad that tried to engage the Bruins early. This time, infused with some internal competition Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has been stretching of late, they answered the bell in enthusiastic fashion.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Canucks at home, there was still some buzz about the Bruins finding their physical identity.
“For our team I think it’s an excellent thing,” said Cassidy on Tuesday morning. “How often, that I can’t answer. If you go through that every night there’s going to be attrition. And you need a dance partner as well. Some nights you’re just not going to get it.
That all started with the Bruins just making a physical play; Charlie McAvoy laid out Mark Scheifele with a big hit, and the Jets took exception, which turned it into a fight night.
That was never the Bruins intention, but once the opportunity was there, they certainly weren’t going to back down, especially as they try to re-establish a more physical identity.
“That night it was there,” said Cassidy. “It started on a big hit on one of their better players, so that’s usually how you get a team’s attention. Now, that was just Charlie being Charlie. The hit was there, there it was, he took it. Maybe the next night it’s there and you don’t for whatever reason and off it went. I think some of that had to do with, honestly, (Patrik) Laine finished a check on (Zdeno Chara) or Charlie as well, so they were there to be physical and we were like great, let’s have that type of game.”
The Bruins toughness — physical and mental — has been questioned at times this season, especially stemming back to the lack of engagement in mid-January when there was no retaliation against the Blue Jackets after Tuukka Rask was concussed.
They made some changes after that, as they’ve tried to spark some more inspiration.
Friday night was as much as they’ve shown in a while. Nobody should expect the Big Bad Bruins of the ’70s to make a return, especially in today’s NHL, but perhaps nights like that where the Bruins answer the challenge might be more common as they try to evolve back into a team that’s tough to play against on a regular basis.
“One scrap happens sometimes that gets the ball rolling,” Cassidy said. “...(Brad Marchand) didn’t turn it down and off they went. I think it’s good for team building, I think it’s good for players around the team, (Brandon Carlo) stepped up, (Karson Kuhlman)’s going to defend himself, these are things that go a long way.
“I don’t think you can do it every night, but once in a while, absolutely.”