Taylor Hall learned a tough lesson that if you’re not playing “winning hockey” your ice time with the Bruins will take a hit.
Such was the case Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators when head coach Bruce Cassidy moved Jake DeBrusk to the second line and Hall down to the third. Cassidy mentioned he thought Hall got away from how Boston plays when it wants to win.
Hall is back on the second line for Thursday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden, and he knows what the expectations are after a conversation with his head coach Tuesday night.
“I told Taylor on the bench what was going on, to be honest with you,” Cassidy said after Thursday’s morning skate. “I’d rather deal with it in the moment. It happened in Buffalo earlier this year, he took a penalty late behind the net on the forecheck and we addressed it the next day. If you want to flush a guy from behind the net — it’s a read-and-react game — if you feel you have the foot speed to do it and surprise a guy I’m not going to say no. There’s risk to it. … So we talked about it then.
“If you want to play late in games there’s certain expectations for everybody: Manage the puck, good penalties, you have to be willing to block a shot up top. … So I told him on the bench, it was probably during the last timeout, that we’re going to play winning hockey, that’s how we do it if you want to play late. We move on, today’s a new day. We’re not going to hold it against him from the last game. If we’re in that position again, which we will be, we typically win our share of games, he’ll get his opportunity to get it right.”
Hall, and the rest of the Bruins, certainly will need to bring their best game against a tough Oilers team.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.
