Bruce Cassidy’s Message To Connor Clifton After John Moore Slots In For Bruins-Sabres

Bruce Cassidy never is afraid to send a message to his team, and that remained true ahead of Friday’s Bruins-Sabres game.

The Boston head coach revealed that John Moore would replace Connor Clifton in the lineup as Boston looks to end Buffalo’s three-game win streak and bounce back from an ugly 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Moore began the season in the AHL despite having a strong camp. But after a rough defensive night from Clifton and the rest of the blue line, Cassidy decided to make some changes.

After Friday’s morning skate, Cassidy revealed why he went with Moore over Clifton.

“I didn’t like the way we defended the other night in terms of keeping the puck out of our net,” Cassidy told reporters. “Johnny had a good camp, we gave Cliffy first crack at it, so it’s just a bit of a, we’re not putting it all on Cliffy, it’s a message that if we don’t defend well enough we’ll try other people until we get it right. So, that’s as simple as I can make it.”

We’ll see how Moore responds to the opportunity and if it will jumpstart the defense for the Bruins in order to get back in the win column.

Puck drop from KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. ET.