Patrice Bergeron wasn’t on the ice for the Boston Bruins’ practice Friday afternoon, but head coach Bruce Cassidy was quick to ensure the Bruins’ star center will be on the ice in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Following Bruins practice Friday in St. Louis, Cassidy said Bergeron was given a maintenance day and did not skate with the team at practice, but Bergeron will be ready to go Saturday night at the Enterprise Center.
“I fully expect he’ll be in the lineup,” Cassidy said before pausing and adding, “well, he will be in the lineup tomorrow.”
Perhaps the maintenance day will do Bergeron some good. The Bruins certainly could use the first-line center back on track, as the Blues have done a tremendous job of slowing down Bergeron and his linemates, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Cassidy isn’t worried about his top line and believes that trio will regain its bearings in Game 3.
“I know them well enough by now and seeing how they’ve performed in the playoffs. They’ll eventually get to their game and I believe it will be tomorrow,” Cassidy said. ” … Today they all came in in good spirits. They’re ready to go. They know they need to be better, they admitted it. We’ve gone through some with them, and hopefully, it will help them with certain tendencies St. Louis does.”
— Matt Grzelyck didn’t make the trip to St. Louis, and he won’t play in Game 3 after taking a hit to the head in the Bruins’ Game 2 loss. Cassidy said Thursday that Grzelcyk was in the concussion protocol, and it’s unclear whether or if he’ll return during the series. John Moore most likely will be the defenseman drawing into the lineup to take Grzelcyk’s place. The decision came down to either Moore or Steven Kampfer, and Cassidy is leaning toward Moore, who, like Grzelcyk, is a left-handed shot.
“He’s a left stick, keeps everything simple in terms of pairs and on their strong sides, but we’ll make that decision in the morning, and I’ll let you know for sure then, but that’s the way I’m leaning,” Cassidy said.
— The Blues will be without fourth-line winger Oskar Sundqvist, who was suspended one game for his hit on Grzelcyk. Massachusetts native and Boston College product Zach Sanford is expected to take Sundqvist’s place in the St. Louis lineup.
— Expect the Bruins, who registered just 23 shots on goal in Game 2 despite five power plays, to look to shoot the puck much more Saturday night, especially with the man advantage.
“I think we forced plays that we don’t typically do,” Cassidy said. “Give them credit — they have good sticks. They played our bumper tight, and I don’t think we adjusted well enough to what was available. We’ve looked at that, worked it on a little bit today to see if we can get a little more movement to open up some seams.”
— The Bruins undoubtedly are walking into hostile territory with St. Louis hosting its first Stanley Cup Final game in nearly 50 years, but they have been very good on the road to this point in the playoffs.
