Not much was overly encouraging about the way the Boston Bruins played in the round-robin tournament, though they showed signs of life in games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.
And in the latter of those two contests, which finished with Boston on the losing end 2-1 on Sunday, Ondrej Kase made his return.
That in and of itself was promising for a Bruins team desperate for answers in the middle six.
Kase skated in the role the team long envisioned for him, on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk on the left and David Krejci pivoting. The trio was on the ice together for 9:34 against the Caps, posting a respectable 10 in Corsi For and five in Corsi Against.
Most importantly, they were responsible for Boston’s only goal.
Kase carried the puck on a rush into the Bruins’ offensive zone, then tried to weave a diagonal pass to DeBrusk. The puck quickly was knocked down by a Capitals defender and became loose, but Kase beat two Washington blueliners and poked the puck to DeBrusk, who had an open lane to quickly bury a shot past Braden Holtby.
That unit really hasn’t spent much time together, as Kase played in just six games between the time he arrived in Boston at the trade deadline to the time of the pause. And, as was well-documented, he missed most of Phase 3 then showed up in Toronto late.
Though the time together has been limited, DeBrusk is encouraged.
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“He’s obviously a fast skater. He pushes the pace and I like to play that way too,” Debrusk said after the game on a Zoom call. “I think we wanted to keep it simple today and just getting everything deep, even if it didn’t look clean in the neutral zone, just put it to an area. I thought that he was on pucks and he almost got a good look there as well. Obviously, there’s positives, it’s just a matter of staying consistent now and learning each other. Like you said, I haven’t really played with him. I thought it was a decent first game.”
Krejci obviously has a vested interest in making this work, as Kase and DeBrusk panning out would put a stop to the revolving door of wingers he’s played with for quite literally years at this point.
That he’s playing with a countryman in Kase helps get them on the same page.
“Well we talk a lot, obviously helps that he’s from Czech as well, we talk on and off the ice, on off days as well,” Krejci said. “We had an idea how we wanted to play. I thought we were close a couple times. Like (Connor Clifton) said, it wasn’t perfect, but I thought last two games we’re taking steps in the right direction. There needs to be a little more urgency around the net. That playoff mentality – shoot the puck, crash the net – I felt like that’s what was missing from our game today. …
“I thought (Kase) had some jump in his game. He created a couple scoring chances for himself. He’s a really smart player so it’s fun to play with him. This was his first game in five months so I’m sure he’ll just be better each game.”
The upside to that line is through the roof if they all can get on the right wavelength. Considering the Bruins lack in significantly better options, that trio probably is going to get a little time to work things out.
