Daniel Paille Trying to Make Most of Limited Opportunities With Bruins This Season
BOSTON — Daniel Paille doesn't take any pleasure in seeing a teammate go down with an injury, but the Bruins winger also realizes that is just about the only way he'll find himself back in Boston's lineup these days.
Paille has played just 11 of the Bruins' first 31 games this season, but he's about to make it 12 as he is expected to dress Monday night against Anaheim after Brad Marchand suffered an undisclosed injury against Washington on Saturday.
"I've got to make the most of every opportunity," said Paille after Monday's morning skate. "At this point, right now [an injury] is the only way I can get in until I prove otherwise."
Paille has struggled in his limited opportunities so far this year. A bad defensive gaffe against Phoenix in the season-opener in Prague helped pave the way for rookie Jordan Caron to replace him for the next 10 games. He returned for six games when David Krejci was sidelined with a concussion, but has played just four of 14 games since then.
"My body is nice and healthy, but it makes it hard to get into the same shape as these guys," said Paille, trying to find the silver lining in a season clouded by frequent scratches. "I've got [strength and conditioning] coach [John] Whitesides battling me pretty hard making sure I'm physically ready. I think mentally, I've been fine all year. I'm just ready to get those chances."
Bruins coach Claude Julien praised Paille's attitude throughout the season.
"He's done a tremendous job I think," said Julien. "He is one of those guys that's 'team-first' and you know he wants to play but he also understands his situation and he is certainly not going to disrupt the dressing room because he wants to be a part of this team and his teammates respect him a lot for that."
Still, even Julien would like to see some more production from Paille when he does play. Paille had 10-10-20 totals in 76 games last season and scored a career-high 19 goals and 35 points with Buffalo in 2007-08. But this season he has no goals, just one assist and is a minus-2.
"He's worked hard in practices," said Julien. "He's done everything he can to be as sharp as he can be. Right now, we are encouraging him to play with a lot of confidence because when his confidence is there, he is a really good player. He forechecks well, he skates well and he gets on top of players really quickly. Even last year, I remember when he had some pretty nice goals, just from the effort that he put into the forecheck and then jumping on that loose puck. You really want to see him find that part of his game."
Paille will slot into Marchand's spot alongside Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton on Boston's "energy line." While technically the club's fourth line, that unit has been arguably the team's most consistently effective, providing not just physical play but also some timely scoring. Thornton, Campbell and Marchand have combined for 12 goals and 25 points, so offensive opportunities will be there if Paille can mesh with that combination as well as Marchand has.
"I know what to expect with Thorty, with the effort he gives every night," said Paille. "And I played with Campbell a little bit in preseason and really enjoyed playing with him, too. I feel that we play really similar, so I feel that I can adjust to his game really well."
Thornton is likewise confident that Paille can find his game while serving as Marchand's temporary fill-in.
"It's not that much of an adjustment," said Thornton. "I've played with Paille enough games to know what he brings. If he's on our line it will be the same thing [as with Marchand], getting pucks in deep, working down low and being strong on the puck. It helps having the same centerman all year. They [Paille and Marchand] bring a lot of the same things to the table, so it should be a fairly easy transition."
