Bruins notebook: Jakub Zboril readies for possible return

The last time Jakub Zboril got in a game, it did not go so well.

It was November 23 and the Bruins were in Florida. With the score 1-1 in the second period, Zboril went back into his end to play the puck and, though he had to think quickly, he had just about enough to move it out of harm’s way. Instead, he opted to eat it, take the hit and then move it. But Sam Reinhart took the puck from him and fed Anton Lundell for the Panthers’ go-head goal. The B’s never got even again and suffered a 5-2 loss, just one of four regulation defeats on the season going into Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.

With Hampus Lindholm not feeling well (his availability is a game-time decision), there was a possibility that Zboril was finally going to get a chance to atone for that mistake. For a player coming off major knee surgery, and one that has openly talked about his struggles with confidence, sitting in the press box night after night has not been easy.

“It’s definitely been really hard mentally, for me, coming back after surgery and really wanting to play. Not being in the lineup is really hard. But I still have to keep doing my job, be ready for games and I feel like I’m ready,” said Zboril after the morning skate on Thursday.

For Zboril, the message from coach Jim Montgomery has always been to be assertive in his play, but the defenseman admitted that can tough when he’s not playing regularly.

“It’s not easy, especially for me. I’ve always struggled if I made a mistake and I don’t get that next shift right away, I keep thinking about it, so I have to manage my emotions out there. But I think I’ll be able to handle it,” said Zboril, who tore his ACL in Nashville on December 2, 2021.

“It would be a little easier for me to take it mentally if I take that next chance right away, but it didn’t happen and I had some time to think about it and let it go, learn from my mistakes and keep going.”

While he’s been doing nothing but practicing for the past three weeks, Zboril has done his best to work on the exact play that put him on the ninth floor — retrieving pucks under pressure. But Montgomery understands it’s not the easiest thing to do for a young player.

“When you’re coming back from reconstructive knee surgery and you’ve never been a full-time NHL player, you can tell yourself ‘be aggressive, be assertive, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.’ But our own thoughts do creep into our subconscious and it happens to everyone,” said Montgomery. “I know myself as a coach, the only regrets I’ve ever had as a coach behind the bench is when I haven’t trusted my gut. So I try to trust my gut all the time. Then I can live with the results. It’s hard for a player to just have the confidence to just go play. You’ve got to earn it, and especially in this league you’ve got to earn it.”

While Montgomery was a forward, not a defenseman like Zboril, he made a living being in and out of the lineup and having fewer minutes than he would have liked. He learned to appreciate what his role meant in the overall scheme of things.

“I remember playing with Tony Granato in San Jose and we were playing fourth line, whatever, 5-10 minutes a night. And he had a great point when we went for lunch. He said ‘my minutes now, playing seven minutes a night, are more important to the team than when I was playing 18 minutes a night playing with (Wayne) Gretzky in LA. Because those seven minutes a night are important to keep the needle moving for the team.’ When you play 18 minutes a night, you know you’re going to get another shift,” said Montgomery. “It’s not easy. We get that, especially as coaches. And I’ve been in that seat. I’ve been in and out of the lineup. And you’ve just got to overcome it. You have to get to a point where mentally you say ‘I’m going to do this because this is what’s right for the team and this is how I’m going to help the team and I’m going to live with myself.’”….

David Krejci, who missed the last two game because of a lower body injury, was set to return to the lineup against the Kings.

The B’s schedule has been fairly light up until now, but as it heats up later in the season with more back-to-backs. While he doesn’t expect Krejci will need maintenance for his latest injury, he does see some of his older players needing general maintenance later in the season.

“We’ve got a few players where, chronologically, they might need rest every once in a while. That’s the roster we have. We’re blessed with a great roster, but there’s going to be maintenance involved at different times of the year,” said Montgomery. “But every time you envision that happening, you don’t have a healthy roster.”…

The NHL will be holding its two-day free Fan Festival at Boston City Hall Plaza on December 30 and 31 as part of the build up to the Winter Classic game at Fenway Park between the Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The event will run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 30 and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 31.

The event promises family-friendly interactive hockey activities, autograph sessions featuring current and former Bruin greats, giveaways, food and the Stanley Cup will make an appearance.

 

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/oVinmSH