Rust visible in Bruins’ return

The good news is that the Bruins’ first-in-forever game Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto was a meaningless exhibition. The bad news is they’ve got some work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.

And the possibly even worse news? Brad Marchand left the game in the third period after showing some discomfort with what looked like some sort of core injury.

Coach Bruce Cassidy did not have much information on Marchand other than to say he didn’t think the issue was serious, but that they’d have a better idea in the morning.

Other than that, the Columbus Blue Jackets showed up more ready to play than the Bruins and it showed, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period and winning 4-1.

Here are some highlights, lowlights, quotes and observations:

* Jack Studnicka did not look out of place as the second line right wing. In fact, it looked like he was ready to give the absent Ondrej Kase some very serious competition for the spot. He did not capitalize on his opportunities early that could have changed the course of the game. He created his first chance by picking off a puck along the right wall and had a great look from inside the right dot but elected to pass it to Jake DeBrusk, who could not convert. On his second try, he made a nice backhand move in tight but Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo made a terrific stop.

He continued to make plays and gain confidence as the game wore on.

Cassidy reiterated that Studnicka will have to work through the shot-versus-pass mentality but had a little more concern over some “soft” backhand play attempts that will not fly at the NHL level. Other than that, Studnicka was pretty darn good. Considering that at this point it’s anyone’s guess when Kase will be ready to contribute, a good showing from the young Studnicka was one of the more important positive developments the B’s needed to see.

* It didn’t take long for Cassidy to try and get a player’s attention. Sean Kuraly had practiced throughout Phase 3 and the Phase 4 practices as a third line wing. Early in the game, he made a cross-ice pass just outside his blue line that was quickly turned into a counterattack by the the Blue Jackets. Kuraly was then beaten back to the net, where Boone Jenner was able to redirect a Liam Foudy pass past Tuukka Rask.

Next time we saw Kuraly, he was on the fourth line left wing next to Par Lindholm. Whether it was meant as a wakeup call or not, Kuraly became a physical, disrupting presence as the game progressed and picked up a helper on the B’s only goal.

“I thought Sean wasn’t strong early on so I moved him off that line. He got much better as the game went on and found his stride. I don’t want to over-analyze a lot of the individual players. It’s the first game in a long time,” said Cassidy.

* Rask not was sharp early in the game. He fumbled with a few rebounds before giving up three goals — two in 16 seconds — in the first period. He did get better as the game wore on before making the scheduled change with Jaroslav Halak at 9:56 of the second. The fan-less atmosphere was something for the players to get used to — and fight through.

“To me, it kind of felt like a scrimmage practice in the beginning. Picking up the pucks from the stands was not an issue, I don’t think, just every once in a while tracking it was. That was a little unusual with the four-month break. Hopefully next game I’ll be feeling better,” said Rask.

Cassidy, who confirmed Rask will get the start in Sunday’s opening round robin game against the Flyers, did not fault his as much as the play in front of him, saying the “weakest” part of the his team’s game was on the breakouts, which saw numerous turnovers.

* Marchand and Patrice Bergeron joked on Wednesday that they were the ones who had to catch up to David Pastrnak, who’d missed the entire Phase 3 while quarantine. They weren’t lying. Pastrnak looked to be in midseason form on his second period goal. He collected the rebound of a Kuraly soft shot, pumped-faked the big slapper and casually slipped it through Elvis Merzlikins’ gaping five-hole.

“I knew coming into that game I’m not going to feel great but it wasn’t that bad and I was a little surprised. That’s why I ended up playing. To be honest, I’d rather play and get the game-mode in, the earlier the better,” said Pastrnak.

* As expected, there was some rust visible all night and perhaps nowhere more noticeable than on the one-timers. Bergeron, David Krejci and Jeremy Lauzon all fanned on their attempts, Bergeron missed one from his power-play office on the bumper.

* Rask, caught up in a social justice Twitterstorm over wearing a Boston Police hat in an interview on Tuesday, said he wasn’t trying to make a statement.

“It was actually a recorded interview, even though they said it was live. I just put a hat on in the morning. It was not a statement. I definitely respect what’s going on in the world right now. I know I stand with everybody for anti-racism. It was not a statement. I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” said Rask.

The players will have a day off on Friday.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3hTi1MR