BOSTON – Rick Nash is still out of the Bruins lineup with an upper body injury, and the 33-year-old won’t be close to a return until he gets back on the ice as one of the final steps in his recovery. That being said the B’s were still optimistic ahead of Saturday afternoon’s 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers that they would have their full lineup ready for the postseason, but that was before a couple of in-game injuries to Brandon Carlo and Riley Nash.
MORE - Carlo, Nash knocked out of B's win with injuries
Still, there are five games and nearly two weeks for Rick Nash to heal up in time for postseason action, and a reasonable chance he’ll be back in the early portion of the playoffs considering that he’s back to working out regularly at this point. The interesting thing is that there might not even room for Nash’s big 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame on David Krejci’s second line if the Bruins playmaking center keeps clicking with the kids Jake DeBrusk and Ryan Donato.
The newfangled Bruins second line, pieced together on Saturday with the return of DeBrusk from injury after missing the last eight games, accounted for four of Boston’s five goals, and DeBrusk himself announced his return with authority amidst the first two-goal game of his professional hockey career.
“I liked it. I think most people liked it. I thought they had good chemistry; they were feeding off each other. [David] Krejci, obviously, I think him and Jake have had real good chemistry. It’s one consistent that [Krejci] has had, so it was a pretty good line in terms of puck possession and making plays,” said Cassidy. “They can each complement each other. So, we’ll see how it goes. [The right side is] Ryan’s off side, so that’s the one area [to really look at].
“The other lines have sort of come together a little bit. Who’s going to be Krejci’s right winger? We’ve had Rick Nash in there, [David] Backes has moved up, [Anders] Bjork at the start of the year – a lot of moving parts for him. Now we’re just giving Ryan a quick trial here at the end of the year, see if he can play his off-side. We’ve done that with a lot of players, played them out of position just for these situations.”
The chemistry was a little off at the start of the game as they actually allowed a goal on their first shift together out on the ice. DeBrusk was a little rusty on his D-zone coverage and Donato was overpowered by Jamie McGinn at the point of attack for the loose puck goal in front, but it was all positives after that for the Krejci and Kids Line.
Boston Bruins
DeBrusk and Krejci worked the cycle down low to high on the first goal before Krejci fed a puck to the net at the instant Nick Holden cut to the net for the backdoor goal. On Boston’s second goal it was again Krejci throwing the puck down low behind the Florida net, and Donato retrieving and then feeding a slick pass to DeBrusk in for his first goal. The line’s third goal was a nice play by Donato stealing a puck at the offensive blue line before sniping one home from the slot, and then DeBrusk attacked the net to close out the scoring with his second score of the game.
Clearly it left all three forwards feeling pretty good about the immediate returns from the line as an overstuffed forward group is jockeying for those top-12 forward spots once the postseason gets going in a couple of weeks.
“I thought [adding Donato] was good. I thought our line in general was playing well. I thought that just kind of trying to get chemistry – I mean, I’ve been with Krech [David Krejci] for most of the year and we’ve had [Ryan] Spooner there, Rick Nash there, and now [Ryan] Donato -- so we’re just trying to talk out there, communicate, and trying to make the game easier,” said DeBrusk. “It was nice to be a part of a winning effort and be able to contribute.
“I was itching to get back in there and do anything I can to help the team and I mean, just try to play my game, not do too much. I felt a little rusty today to be honest, but at the same time it was nice to contribute and get on the board and help the team win, but yeah, I was missing it a lot – especially the last couple games.”
The standout play of the Krejci and Kids Line Saturday also definitely had to give Bruce Cassidy something to chew on when Nash is ready for a return at some point during the postseason. So also has the team’s overall performance without Nash as the B’s have gone 4-0-3, and scored a robust 23 goals, since he was a late scratch against Columbus with an upper body injury.
Perhaps a possible spot on the third line would be in his future if DeBrusk and Donato keep doing damage with Krejci?
“Anything is possible, right? We’re going to play the guys in the best spots. I liked Rick with Krejci on the right side. I have no issue with it. Health is the reason he is not there right now. And I liked Jake on the [left] side. With Ryan Donato coming into the mix, we didn’t know what we were getting, so one comes in, the other one goes out almost, it seems,” said Cassidy. “That’s the luxury of getting these looks, but it’s also taking away from developing chemistry with these injuries.
“Could Rick [Nash] go down and play with [Riley] Nash and Backes if it all worked out up top? Absolutely. I think he’s going to find his scoring opportunities no matter who he plays with, but I liked him with Krejci. I don’t always want to go down that road [that’s] in 10 days, but that would be our plan. Let’s see where we are then.”
Clearly placing Krejci with a couple of skilled youngsters gives his dangerous weapons on either side with speed and the ability to dangerously shoot the puck, and his three assists on Saturday afternoon were prime evidence of that. But that would also leave the Bruins second line awfully young and awfully small on the wing, and that’s not really where Krejci’s comfort zone has been in past playoffs when he’s worked best with big-bodied wingers like Nash.
TALKING POINTS - DeBrusk returns in style
It’s certainly too early, as Cassidy referenced, to make hard playoff lineup decisions when so much can change over the next two weeks, and there will need to be a harder, longer look at a possible Krejci and the Kids Line with a 21-year-old Donato playing his off-wing. But the first returns were pretty darn good on Saturday afternoon against Florida as the first returns have been generally good for just about everything the Bruins have done during this charmed hockey season.