Bruins notebook: Craig Smith returns to practice

The extra day off between Monday’s Game 2 in Boston and Thursday’s Game 3 on Long Island appears to be have been quite beneficial for the Bruins.

Craig Smith, who missed Game 2 with a lower body injury, tested out what was bother him about 45 minutes before practice and then returned with the team for the full session, taking his regular spot on the second line with David Krejci and Taylor Hall as well as his role on the second power-play unit. While coach Bruce Cassidy did not go so far as to declaring Smith in for Game 3, things looked promising.

“He looks a lot better,” said Cassidy. “That’s a good development for us. We weren’t sure, to be honest with you. But he made it through the entire practice, did a little work early, so that’s a positive. Obviously, (Thursday) morning, let’s see if there’s an residual effect. If not, then I assume he’ll be in the lineup.”

Goalie Tuukka Rask, who produced a fair amount of teeth-gnashing when he showed some discomfort on on his right side after a failed Mat Barzal breakaway in Game 2, returned to practice Wednesday and was named the starter for Game 3. Both Rask himself, in a WEEI interview last week, and Cassidy on Tuesday acknowledged the goalie was battling nagging injuries. On Wednesday, Cassidy downplayed the significance of those injuries.

“He’s fine,” said Cassidy. “Tuukka’s ready to go every playoff game. There’s no issue there. Somebody asked me the other day and, like a lot of guys, there’s a few things there and I said something. But he’s ready to go, practicing full and he’ll be in the net (Thursday) night.”

Presuming Smith is able to return, that would mean someone from the Game 2 lineup would have to come out. Cassidy said that it would not be Jake DeBrusk who’d be scratched, even though it appeared as though that might be the case as he was a man without a line in Wednesday’s practice. However, the coach did not say who would be the odd man out.

Karson Kuhlman remained with Charlie Coyle and Nick Ritchie in practice. Though Kuhlman played reasonably well, picking up an assist on Coyle’s game-opening goal, he’d be the best guess here to take a sit. Another possibility would be Chris Wagner, who skated a team-low 9:53 in Game 2, though his fourth line with Curtis Lazar and Sean Kuraly has played reasonably well in a defensive role. We shall see.

Cassidy also said that he was sticking with Jeremy Lauzon. The young defenseman has been on the ice for seven goals against (and four in favor) in his three playoff games and his bad cross-ice pass attempt led to the game-winning breakaway away goal from Casey Cizikas in Game 2.

A impactful play like that could leave a mark on a young player’s psyche, but Cassidy believes he’ll be able to mentally bounce back from that play There are some areas that Cassidy would like to see Lauzon improve, however.

“He’s a confident kid. If you watch him, he tries plays out there more than most at his experience level. So I’m not worried about that part of it,” said Cassidy. “I think the message to Jeremy for the most part is, listen, we’re moving on to Game 3, Game 2’s over. And be true to your identity, and that is in simplest terms you have to be at your best to keep pucks out of our net. That’s your first job, that’s what you’re good at, that’s why you got into the lineup. You’re obviously hard to play against, willing to block shots. … Be hard to play against and keep the puck out of your net. That starts with good defending, that starts with a good stick, which is what we addressed with him the other night. We thought his stick could have been in better positions, specifically on the (penalty kill). Offensively, we have certain things we like to run in the O-zone. The other one (on the breakaway goal) didn’t work out the other night. We addressed it. But he still has to make the plays in front of him. And he’s going to be like everyone else on our team, he’s going to make some good ones, and others that could be better. We’ll keep encouraging him, working with him. He’s a great kid, he’ll be in there (Thursday) night and hopefully he helps us win.”

DeBrusk owns up

DeBrusk was whacked with a $5,000 fine for his crosscheck to the back of Scott Mayfield‘s head on Tuesday and, on Wednesday, he issued a pretty straightforward mea culpa.

“It was warranted. Obviously, got my stick in a dangerous position there in front,” said DeBrusk. “I kind of realized it as the play was going on, obviously he went down pretty hard. He was able to come back, didn’t necessarily hurt him, so it’s one of those things where it’s heat of the battle, you’re in the front of the net, I just lost where my stick was. A fine is a fine, it’s a warning. It’s my first thing with player safety, so I understand that’s obviously not OK, and it won’t happen again .”

B’s expecting a rocking Coliseum

Games 1 and 2 were the first time the Bruins had a full house cheering for them since Mach 7, 2020. They’ll now get the flipside of that when they play before what should be a raucous Nassau Coliseum crowd on Thursday and Saturday.

“I think it’s great. I love the old buildings. I realize things progress, you build newer stuff with more amenities, better amenities, revenue-generating and all that. But I still have a fondness for those old buildings, seeing all the sweaters hanging from those Islanders teams. I watched them play a lot growing up,” said Cassidy. “I think it would be loud. It should be. It’s playoffs. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. The Garden was rocking the other day and I’m sure the Coliseum will be rocking. You can use that to your advantage, too, as a player. It gets you going. So that’s what I suspect will happen. It looked like that’s what was going on with Pittsburgh in Game 6 and I hear they’re opening up to a few more fans, so it will be even louder.”

On the mend

Another good sign for the B’s was that Kevan Miller skated prior to practice with coach Kim Branvold. He will not be ready for Game 3, but it’s an important step in his recovery from what was believed to be a concussion he suffered in Game 4 of the Washington series.

Also, Jakub Zboril skated with the main group for the first time since suffering an upper body injury in the last regular season game. He could be an option down the road.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2S3jTLy