The Boston Bruins may be looking at a pretty hairy situation heading into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues.
The injury to Zdeno Chara looms large for Boston, which also has been without Matt Grzelcyk since Game 2. But the issue of the Bruins’ banged-up blue line has been compounded by the fact that the team’s top-six forwards have not been producing to expectations.
Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak dominated on the power play in Game 3, but have struggled 5-on-5 in the Cup Final. The second line? Well, they have been near invisible.
David Krejci, Jake DeBrusk and David Backes have combined for just two assists through four games. Both of those helpers came from DeBrusk on power play goals in Games 2 & 3.
While Charlie Coyle’s line has stepped up, Bruce Cassidy knows his second line needs to get things going if this series is going to play out in the B’s favor.
“We got to sit down with them obviously,” Cassidy told reporters Tuesday via Boston Sports Journal’s Conor Ryan. “They got to change the way they’re playing. It hasn’t worked so far to generate offense. One thing, if you generate offense night after night, doesn’t go in, but we don’t see that from that line yet. We did talk about it yesterday. We’re going to have to revisit it, sell some different ideas of how they can generate offense.
“Typically Krech is very receptive, but he still likes to play his way. We’re going to have to be halfway on that, then go from there. Jake, I think it’s pretty simple with Jake, he has to play more on the inside right now. Use his speed, get inside. That’s when he starts to get going. He’s that type of kid that when he scores one, he’s streaky. When he gets that one, he may take off. Backes is Backes. He’s a complementary guy on that line. His game is not going to change a lot. I think the other two, we have to find a way to get them back feeling good about their game.”
Krejci and DeBrusk were a dangerous duo for much of the season, with Krejci being one of the more consistent Bruins all season. DeBrusk, meanwhile, exploded for 27 goals in his second season. Their disappearance in the Cup Final has been as surprising as it’s been disappointing.
Typically, the Bruins go as Krejci does in the postseason. That might just be the case again this year.
