Injuries have riddled the Boston Bruins’ lineup this season, recently skating without top-six wingers such as Jake DeBrusk, Marcus Johansson and David Pastrnak.
DeBrusk and Pastrnak have both returned to the lineup, but with Johansson still sidelined, Bruce Cassidy has been forced to jumble his forward lines, bumping Charlie Coyle up to David Krejci’s wing on the second opposite DeBrusk.
That has opened the door for Sean Kuraly as third-line center.
And the 26-year-old pounced on the opportunity, potting two goals in the Bruins’ 5-0 drubbing of the New York Islanders on Tuesday. The two tallies give Kuraly eight on the season, a career high. We’ve seen Kuraly step up in big spots before, including a game-winner in the 2017 playoffs against the Ottawa Senators, and another game-winner in the Winter Classic earlier this season.
But Bruce Cassidy was pleased with what the forward has shown in his stint on the third line, and his nose for the net.
“Eventually we though we could grow him into that,” Cassidy told NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley of Kuraly as a scoring threat. “We’ve seen him in the playoffs really step up his game and pitch in offensively, maybe we abandoned ship too soon. You never with those decisions. It’s easy to second guess in hindsight. But at the end of the day we thought he started playing better on the left wing and that’s why we ended up making a shift and tried some young guys. But if he can give us this … it was good for Sean to get rewarded.”
The 26-year-old was one of a few forwards the B’s had in the running for third-line pivot coming into the season, but ultimately decided that Kuraly fit better on the fourth line alongside Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner.
But given the forwards recent show at pivot, Cassidy will have some decisions to make as the team continues to get healthy.
— Pastrnak made his much anticipated return after missing 16 games with a thumb injury, returning to his old slot alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
And while the winger did not find his the scoresheet, the 22-year-old did register three shots on goal and had 14:16 time on ice.
— He didn’t have to break too much of a sweat, but Tuukka Rask recorded his fourth shutout of the season, making 13 saves.
It was the 45th shutout of his career.
— DeBrusk buried his 23rd goal of the season, coming out of the penalty box and jumping on an Islanders turnover at mid-ice to spark a breakaway.
It was DeBrusk’s first marker since a five-game absence due to injury. In his last 12 games, DeBrusk has scored nine goals, and this stat courtesy of Boston Sports Info shows just how unbeatable the Bruins are when the 22-year-old finds twine.
— The Bruins are one step closer to locking up home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Boston sits in second place in the Atlantic Division with 97 points with nine games left to play. While there is no chance to catch the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins hold the upper hand on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lost to the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Tuesday night, and sit six points behind the B’s.
Given Boston’s success on TD Garden ice this season, having home ice in a potential first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs could be the difference.
