Did the Bruins Make the Right Move with Matt Poitras? | Bruins Beat - video Dailymotion

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Evan Marinofsky is joined by Conor Ryan today to break down the Bruins' recent decision to send Matt Poitras to the World Juniors to play for Team Canada. After limiting his ice time the past few weeks, is this decision one that will boost his confidence by allowing him to play a bigger role on the junior team, or could the increase in workload have a negative impact on his performance in the long run? Plus, some rumors are emanating from Providence around Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell and his development.   Topics:   Matt Poitras is headed to World Juniors   Did the Bruins make the right move?   What do the Bruins do from here?   The Fabian Lysell dilemma   The goaltending is still good     This episode of Bruins Beat is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook!   21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234

Transcript

00:00 I do wonder if we ever get to the point where we ask, "Hey, did they call him up a year

00:05 too early?"

00:06 You know?

00:07 And again, I think he's too good at the little things and sort of the intangibles.

00:12 And I think his mindset is so good that I don't think it really matters.

00:17 But I don't know.

00:18 It's a thing I've been kind of thinking about recently, the way that, you know, not that

00:22 the hype died.

00:23 It didn't.

00:24 But like, just, it was so high.

00:25 You know what I mean?

00:26 When he started, it was such a high bar.

00:27 Yeah.

00:28 I don't think we ever asked that question.

00:39 And welcome into the Bruins Beat on CLNS Media.

00:42 My name is Evan Maronofsky, joined by the one, the only, Connor Ryan.

00:48 Connor, what is up?

00:49 I'm doing well, Evan.

00:50 How you doing?

00:51 Doing great.

00:52 Doing great.

00:53 Want to mention we're partnered and we're brought to you by our good friends over at

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01:15 So I appreciate that.

01:17 The big news, we'll get to kind of stuff that happened this weekend in a bit, but the big

01:21 news of Monday was something we kind of anticipated was going to happen.

01:26 Matt Potra is sent to the World Juniors for Canada.

01:31 Big deal.

01:32 That's a huge deal.

01:35 I think us hockey fans here in the United States always grew up watching it.

01:40 It's a big deal here.

01:41 I'm not trying to minimize it in the United States because it's a huge deal.

01:45 But up in Canada, that's like the biggest thing you can do.

01:48 Like that is as, that is like becoming president.

01:51 I mean, it is like, it is a huge thing to go to the World Juniors.

01:55 So first of all, congrats to Matt Potra.

01:58 It's a big deal.

02:00 What are your initial thoughts?

02:02 We'll start with his development.

02:04 And did you think it was right that the Bruins let him go to the WJC?

02:08 Yeah.

02:09 I mean, I think there's pros and cons to this, Evan.

02:12 I can go back and forth on it, but I think from the Bruins perspective, I can see why

02:18 I think when you look at this stretch where, you know, they've been resting him a couple

02:21 of games.

02:22 He's, you know, had his minutes cut.

02:24 He's been stapled to the bench in third period.

02:27 Maybe a stretch here where you go to World Juniors, where you're going to be a featured

02:31 player for them.

02:32 He's going to be right up there with Celebrini as one of the top guys for Team Canada.

02:37 So is Matt Potra better than Macklin Celebrini?

02:40 I mean, the people are saying that the people are wondering.

02:43 He didn't go to BU.

02:44 So there's that part of it.

02:46 So you have to factor that in.

02:47 But I think if you're the Bruins and you put him over there, he gets, you know, the excitement

02:53 of representing his country on an international stage, playing heavy minutes, power play minutes,

03:00 playing a featured role there.

03:02 And even though it's, you know, high pressure, high octane environment he's going to be in,

03:07 it's still, you know, under 20 competition.

03:09 Like he should rip up that tournament considering he's already been pretty productive up in

03:13 the NHL ranks.

03:14 So if you're the Bruins, I could see why you're mapping out that situation where, all right,

03:19 we send Potra down there.

03:22 You know, you get him rolling, have him feel confident about his game.

03:25 And then when he comes back here in, I think, January 8th or whenever he's next available,

03:30 if they go all the way, Team Canada, if he's back, has, you know, a point per game stretch,

03:37 wins a gold medal or something like that, you know, puts himself on the radar, feels

03:40 good about his game, that can go a long way towards, you know, getting him energized,

03:44 getting him ready to go and having him ready for this final stretch of the season.

03:49 Because the last thing you want is a guy who, again, he's been solid, but if you're going

03:53 through the ups and downs, hitting a few walls here, you want him to build that confidence

03:57 back up.

03:58 And I think getting over a World Juniors, you know, getting on a roll there could really

04:01 do some good for him.

04:03 It's almost like his version of Providence.

04:05 I know I'm not minimizing it by that.

04:07 I'm just saying like, it's a way to go somewhere else, play, you know, more minutes, play a

04:12 bigger role and kind of regain that confidence.

04:15 I'm fine with it.

04:16 I know there are people out there who are against it.

04:18 I understand the argument against it, but I really do think it's a good idea to go somewhere

04:23 else, build the confidence.

04:26 And I mean, think of it from the Bruins perspective, right?

04:28 Let's say the Bruins said, sorry, Matt, you're staying with us.

04:32 And I mean, it wouldn't, it would make sense.

04:34 Zacca's out right now.

04:35 Like that's a guy, you know, he does play a role.

04:38 I know his minutes have been cut, but allowing him to play back into that, he probably not

04:44 going to be the happiest camper in the world, considering if his minutes continue to get

04:48 cut and he's missing out on an opportunity he's grown up dreaming of doing, that might

04:54 piss him off.

04:56 So again, I go back to, you know, it's a chance for him to build up his confidence, round

05:01 out parts of his game.

05:02 John Sweeney mentioned on Monday, being a bit of a leader, you know, being a main guy

05:05 for that team.

05:07 And it just, it's a break from the rigors of the NHL.

05:10 It is.

05:11 And it's, and I know it's, and you mentioned it, it's intense.

05:14 You know, it's, there's pressure, especially from Canada.

05:17 I mean, they don't win.

05:18 It's a freaking huge deal up there, but still it's a, it's a little bit of a break from

05:23 the grind of an 82 game season in the NHL.

05:27 And he's playing with guys who are his own age and younger.

05:32 So again, I just go back to, I don't think it's a bad thing.

05:35 I know people connect this to Fabian Lysel, which I want to get to some comments regarding

05:39 Fabian Lysel later in this episode.

05:43 But Fabian Lysel and Matt Potts are two very different cats.

05:46 Very different guys.

05:48 And I don't suspect Potra's going to go there and lay an egg.

05:53 I think, you know, again, Potra's game here, I think has been good.

05:56 Like I know the production hasn't been up to maybe what we would have hoped or, you

06:00 know, being a top six center or something like that.

06:05 But I still think that his game has been good.

06:07 The little things have been pretty solid.

06:09 I know there's been some lulls, but overall I have not hated his game up here.

06:15 And I think going to the World Juniors can kind of only help with that, right?

06:19 Yeah, I mean, I think the confidence level and all that stuff is going to be really key.

06:22 The only like con I would say, because even if you, you know, or maybe mentioning that

06:27 he's going to be gone for I think nine games if he's not back until January 8th, like you

06:31 miss him there.

06:32 But again, Zaka's getting healthy.

06:34 He could be back as soon as Tuesday.

06:37 Kiki's been really good in his absence, so he could be a 3C.

06:41 Like you have options there at center, which is a very promising development for the Bruins

06:45 for this stretch here.

06:46 The only maybe con I would have is just maybe it's like just the overall workload.

06:51 And I don't say that he's not ready for, you know, World Junior competition or all that

06:55 stuff.

06:56 But I think when you look at the Bruins and how cognizant they are about, you know, having

07:00 him avoid hitting a wall here, most games he's ever played in the season, I think it

07:04 was 68 with the storm last season.

07:07 So when you look at the fact that, yes, it's a different level of competition, a different

07:12 workload when it's NHL and that schedule to World Juniors.

07:16 But if he's going to World Juniors and they win the gold medal, I think he's playing seven

07:20 games in 11 days.

07:21 So you got those high pressure games, probably playing 18 to 20 plus minutes a night.

07:26 You come right back into it for this final stretch here.

07:29 Plus the playoffs, like the last thing you want is also having that that stretch there

07:33 or, you know, it's early March or something like that.

07:37 And all of a sudden he hits that wall and he's done.

07:39 Like there's only so much few of these guys have.

07:41 So that could be maybe the one concern there is that maybe, you know, it's better just

07:46 to have him here and sit him every couple of games and manage him as opposed to sending

07:49 him over there.

07:50 But I think for the Bruins, it's something they obviously considered.

07:52 And I think for them, it's all right.

07:55 He's done a pretty good job so far at, you know, fighting through all these challenges

07:59 we've thrown at him.

08:00 Let's get his confidence back going again, because every time we've thrown something

08:03 at him, he's responded.

08:04 But if he's playing at a high level, feeling good about his game, he should be able to

08:07 tackle whatever we throw at him as this season goes along.

08:10 Yeah, I agree.

08:11 You hit on a point there of what are the Bruins do from here?

08:14 And I want to get to that.

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08:57 You know, Connor, you know when you're, people probably think, oh my God, where do you guys

09:03 record this podcast?

09:04 Is it, you know, is it in a big, beautiful studio?

09:07 What are you doing on?

09:09 We do it on our laptops.

09:11 Just fine.

09:12 And sometimes my laptop sounds like it's about to take off.

09:16 Like it's just like the jet engine is just pumping.

09:20 And right now it feels and sounds like it's going to explode any minute.

09:25 So I'll call the, I'll call the ambulance.

09:30 Yes.

09:31 Just shoot them a text or, you know, leave a voicemail or something.

09:35 I'll probably call them.

09:38 Hello.

09:39 Can you go get Evan?

09:41 You know, it's funny when I was at the Flood Mar this weekend and all the prep tournaments,

09:47 someone brought up an interesting point regarding Macklin Celebrini.

09:51 So the oldest right now in prep is like, you know, the oldest of the old kids are like

09:55 2004 born kids.

09:57 And then the seniors are all fives, 2005s.

10:01 Macklin Celebrini is a 2006.

10:04 I just, it's incredible.

10:08 So you hit on the, what do the Bruins do?

10:10 Obviously Zaka's on IR.

10:13 You have Coyle.

10:14 Do you elevate Geeky?

10:16 You have Frederick, you got Beecher.

10:18 What do you do if you're the Bruins right now?

10:19 I mean, how do you manage especially those middle two lines with, with Potter going to

10:24 be gone for a bit?

10:25 Yeah.

10:26 I mean, I think if Zaka's healthy, it makes it a lot easier.

10:28 You can go back to the usual top six there with Zaka and Coyle in place.

10:34 And then, yeah, I think it's a good opportunity for Geeky who it's kind of almost like a,

10:39 the same kind of script as to what you're hoping to get out of Potcher, right?

10:43 Where it's like you put them in an elevator role somewhere else.

10:47 You know, different circumstances, get his game going, having him feel confident.

10:50 So not to say that, you know, Geeky and World Juniors, but he was a guy that for the last

10:55 few weeks coming back for his injury, didn't really have a spot in the lineup, right?

10:58 Is he a third line guy?

10:59 He was on the fourth line a little bit, goes up, takes over for Zaka in the top six and

11:04 all of a sudden has four points in four games, playing over 18 minutes a night, feeling really

11:08 good about his game.

11:09 So I think he's the first guy up.

11:11 I'd be looking for another guy to slot in at that maybe three C spot in the bottom six.

11:16 And then yeah, probably Beecher at four C. So I think, you know, it's something that

11:20 Don Sweeney mentioned on Monday that it wasn't the, the leading cause as to why they put

11:25 Potcher or they send him to World Juniors.

11:28 But one thing that played into it was the fact that Zaka is coming back, which is huge.

11:32 And also Geeky's playing at a high level right now.

11:34 So if you can have Zaka, Coyle, Geeky and Beecher as your, your four assignment for

11:39 right now, pretty good spot.

11:41 That group should be able to hold its own over this, you know, eight, nine game stretch.

11:46 It should.

11:47 I think Geeky's game is trending to the point where they feel, and I think he's kind of

11:51 earned the right to get a shot at that number three center spot.

11:56 And again, it's interesting.

11:57 Like Potcher has been good so far this year.

11:59 I'm curious though, if over these next nine games or so, if Geeky is really good in that

12:05 third line center spot and they sort of start to find something, like, do you think there's

12:09 a chance?

12:10 I mean, Potcher, when he comes back, he's going to get a roster spot back.

12:14 But does Geeky move to the wing?

12:15 Is there any, I mean, I think Potcher is better down the middle, but like, I do wonder like

12:20 if Geeky is so good, again, this is, this obviously has not happened yet.

12:23 This, the news just dropped on Monday.

12:25 So let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, but let's also do get a little bit ahead of

12:28 ourselves.

12:30 Is there a chance that, you know, when, when Potcher comes back, there's sort of a battle

12:35 for that third line center spot?

12:38 I mean, it could be.

12:39 Yeah.

12:40 Again, Sweeney was, you know, mentioned that as well, that again, he can play wing Potcher,

12:44 but I think they want to keep him in that spot.

12:45 This is the guy that they envision as being a top six guy.

12:48 I don't think you want to, he's already got a lot on his plate at 19 in terms of just

12:51 staying afloat, you know, holding his own down both ends of the ice.

12:55 So I think you want to keep him there, but I would like to see him and Geeky back together.

12:59 They were pretty solid, especially early on in the year.

13:03 We talked about it before with Geeky, but I think he's so good at bringing the puck

13:06 down low, operating that, that high danger ice.

13:09 I think you get him playing confident in his game with a guy like Potcher, who has the

13:14 passing ability to send pucks down there where he tends to hang out.

13:19 That could be a very effective, whatever you want to call them, bottom six, third line

13:22 grouping.

13:23 If you kind of, you know, if you view how Montgomery tends to put guys in pairs on these

13:27 different lines, Geeky and Potcher, I think can do a lot of damage together.

13:31 So I couldn't really see unless Geeky goes sicko mode, has seven points or something

13:36 over these nine games, what have you.

13:38 But I think the priority for the Bruins should be keeping those two guys together, at least

13:43 once Potcher does come back.

13:45 Sicko mode.

13:46 That's it.

13:47 That's the right thing.

13:48 As the kids say.

13:49 Yeah, I, you know, it's funny.

13:53 I think people have sort of been surprised by Potcher's usage, not being played in third

13:59 periods at times, having kind of scheduled days off, games off.

14:04 And I wonder if we're ever going to ask the question, was he called up too soon?

14:09 Because I don't think he was.

14:10 I think early returns so far is that he's fit and he's earned his spot.

14:15 But I do wonder, I mean, you remember a few months ago, the hype was high, he was producing

14:21 and he's still producing to an extent.

14:24 But I wonder if we ever get to the point again, because I don't, I don't think they did call

14:27 up too early, but I do wonder if we ever get to the point where we ask, hey, did they call

14:32 him up a year too early?

14:34 You know, and again, I think he's too good at the little things and sort of the intangibles.

14:40 And I think his mindset is so good that I don't think it really matters.

14:45 But I don't know.

14:46 It's a thing I've been kind of thinking about recently, the way that, you know, not that

14:49 the hype died, it didn't, but like, just it was so high.

14:53 You know, I mean, when he started with such a high bar.

14:55 Yeah, I wonder if we'll ever ask that question.

14:57 Yeah.

14:58 I mean, I think even though he's gone through some of these, these lulls, I guess, which

15:02 I think we've all, we all expected.

15:03 And I think if you thought he was going to put up a 50 point season, you're fucking crazy.

15:07 But even if he ends the year with, I don't know, 30 ish points for a guy who's 19, who

15:13 I think is accelerating this timeline, I'd rather have a guy like Patra take his lumps

15:17 at 19 and go through this now and come back at age 20 poised for a 50 plus point season,

15:24 as opposed to have him spend a year up with the storm, the OHL and have 110 point season

15:29 would look pretty cool.

15:30 You get pretty excited, but there's still that hump you'd have to go through where he's

15:34 20 years old.

15:36 And maybe he goes through the same exact struggles we saw before.

15:39 Like it's still another year of junior, you still any player, regardless of your 18, 19,

15:44 2021, you have to go through the challenge of night in and night out, the travel, the

15:49 schedule, the competition, the, you know, taking the lumps of maybe sitting for a third

15:53 period getting a scratch from a game.

15:55 Like it's good to get that out of your system now at 19, where you're still showing that

16:00 promise and you're still, you know, remaining competitive now, as opposed to not delaying

16:06 it because every year, you know, he's a special case, but getting that out now, we're all

16:10 sudden next year, you're looking at him.

16:12 If he finishes the year with 35 ish points and you see the promise he's had and like

16:16 next year, you're like, all right, he's 20.

16:18 He knows what to do.

16:19 He knows how to train differently.

16:21 He's ready to step into a top six role next year.

16:24 Pretty good situation to be in a few of the Bruins.

16:26 Yeah, I agree with you.

16:27 I don't think there will be.

16:28 I'm just curious if at some point people start tossing the questions around, but again, I

16:33 agree.

16:34 I agree with you.

16:35 I agree with you.

16:36 You know, it's interesting.

16:37 I don't know if you read Scott McLaughlin did a story on WEI a few weeks ago, or maybe

16:43 a week or two ago about Beecher and Patra living together.

16:45 I'm not sure if you read it.

16:47 And he mentioned Patra getting an air fryer to kind of learn how to cook and to do easy

16:53 meals.

16:54 And what I want to tell Matt Patra is, have you heard of HelloFresh?

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18:32 Now back to the show.

18:34 So we talked a lot about Matt Potra as a young player and what he's able to do and what he's

18:39 done and where he can go and how promising he's been so far.

18:44 One player who has sort of stalled is Fabian Lysell.

18:47 And I know he's had a little bit better of a season this year, but Ryan Muginel made

18:51 some pretty direct comments about him on Sunday night.

18:56 Now forgive me, Connor.

18:57 I don't have the quotes in front of me.

18:58 I don't have the quotes in front of me.

19:00 And I know I tried to look it up on Twitter.

19:02 I couldn't quite find the quote.

19:03 Someone said it to me early on Monday what the quote was.

19:07 And it was, I know this is so unprofessional.

19:09 I can't find the quote.

19:12 But he basically said along the lines of he's going to have to work a hell of a lot harder

19:15 to get up to Boston.

19:16 That was sort of the crux of the quote.

19:19 I don't have it exactly in front of me.

19:20 I believe the most, you know, the stock quote is he said, quote, he's going to start buying

19:26 in or he won't play for Jim Montgomery.

19:28 Which is-

19:29 Bingo.

19:30 That's the quote.

19:31 That's the quote.

19:32 Thank you for pulling that up.

19:34 That's a pretty, first of all, it's the Bruce Cassidy school of media if you're a coach.

19:38 So gloves are off, you know.

19:41 But to me, this feels almost like a last resort by Ryan Mugenel in the sense that Ryan Mugenel

19:47 is a pretty positive guy when it comes, if you ask about his players, Dev Camp, Down

19:52 in Providence, whatever it is, he typically has nice responses about his guys, pretty

19:57 upbeat, doesn't usually take shots at guys in the media, at least that I've seen.

20:02 And to me, this feels almost a little bit like a last resort.

20:05 Now I wonder what Don Sweeney feels about this, considering that, you know, this will

20:10 get around and teams, you know, if they didn't already know, kind of do now know.

20:16 But it almost feels like a last resort to get this kid to get going.

20:19 Now again, I'm not down in Providence every day.

20:21 I'm not, you know, covering them by any means.

20:26 You know, Mark Diver is my sight into it.

20:31 But I do think that, you know, Fabian Lysel, you know, from everything that we've seen

20:35 and all that, has stalled a bit.

20:38 And you know, I know the word bust gets thrown around a lot.

20:41 It did, especially at the end of training camp when he didn't make the team.

20:43 I don't think, you know, I don't, I still don't think we're at bust territory, but I

20:47 do think you need to see something.

20:49 You do need to see some movement because I do think there is, in other teams' eyes, a

20:54 bit of a red flag when it comes to the fact that he's not at the NHL level yet.

20:58 And he was a first round pick a few years ago.

21:00 Yeah, no, I mean, I think for him, you look at his production, he's got 17 points in 23

21:05 games.

21:06 So it's not like he's dogging in terms of, you know, the strengths of his game.

21:10 But it's kind of like what we heard for years, right, with like Georgi Merkulov, who I think

21:14 has had a really, really strong year for Providence.

21:17 But again, what was the thing we heard two years ago when he really kind of showcased

21:21 his skill set during depth camp?

21:23 Like gifted offensively, holy shit, got to work on his defensive game.

21:26 And again, as you said, I'm not down in Providence all the time.

21:29 But I think from listening to Mark Diver, who's got his pulse better than anyone on

21:33 that team, he said that he's made strides.

21:35 I don't think he's going to be winning any selfies down the road.

21:38 But he's clearly it's an area of emphasis.

21:40 He's worked on it.

21:41 He's rounding out his overall game, which is what you need to do to, you know, punch

21:45 your ticket to the NHL.

21:47 So whether it's, you know, floating too much, you know, defensively or not adhering to the

21:52 finer details of the game, you can't just be if you're Lysell, a guy that's offense

21:56 only not for a team, especially like the Bruins, where you need to be defensively responsible

22:01 in order to earn, you know, steady minutes in the lineup.

22:04 So that's definitely something worth keeping tabs on for Lysell.

22:08 And as you said, Nugent is a very positive guy.

22:10 So being kind of this direct and blunt about that, it maybe is the wake up call guy Lysell

22:16 needs because again, you can be putting up all these points finishing the year with 40,

22:21 50 points on the NHL, but if you don't have the overall complete package of what you need

22:28 to do to survive the NHL, you're not going to get that call.

22:31 So you need to learn that sooner rather than later.

22:34 There are a lot of guys who put up a lot of points in the NHL, but they do not have that

22:38 next thing that it takes to be successful in the NHL.

22:41 And you hope that that isn't the case with Lysell.

22:43 Again, the skill is high, the shot, all those things are good.

22:46 It's just that play away from the puck.

22:48 And again, I have not watched enough Providence.

22:50 Forgive me.

22:51 I have not watched enough Providence this year to give an accurate description of his

22:55 game.

22:56 I can only go off of what's being said down there and that, you know, there's been strides,

23:00 but again, if Mugenel is coming out and saying that, not the greatest sign in the world.

23:07 Back to Boston this past weekend, the Bruins, three straight overtime games, Devils.

23:15 Then you got the Islanders and you get the Rangers, all the teams in New York.

23:18 Now you got to go to, they shouldn't have to go to Buffalo now and play another overtime

23:21 game.

23:22 That's what they should have to do.

23:23 Just complete the New York, the New York road trip.

23:26 But goaltending, it's interesting.

23:29 The goaltending is still so damn elite.

23:32 I mean, you see that Linus Olmark save with his skate.

23:36 You know, things are going well when you stick out your skate, it hits the blade.

23:39 You save it, Bruins go down the other way and score.

23:42 And then Swaman again was great on, on Saturday night against the Rangers.

23:46 I think it's encouraging that we're sitting here, we're recording this on December 18th

23:50 and what are we?

23:51 One, two, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, no math.

23:56 I don't know.

23:57 Math's not my thing.

23:58 We're over two months into the season.

24:00 We're near the halfway point or we're getting closer to the halfway point and the goaltending

24:05 is still as good as it was or almost as good as it was beginning of the year.

24:10 Yeah, no, it's something that's been steady throughout the season and you're going to

24:14 have to need it.

24:15 Right.

24:16 I think that's one thing that I think has been really promising.

24:17 Again, you lose, you lose in overtime to, you know, the Rangers and the Devils.

24:23 So you know, it's not the ideal situation, but I think as much as the goaltending has

24:28 been bailing you out, I think it's promising.

24:30 I think at least to see, I think the defensive game has been better the last couple of games.

24:36 You know, there's been, I think fewer games where it's like, if the goaltending wasn't

24:39 there, you'd lose five, one.

24:42 Now it's like the goaltending is helping you out.

24:43 I think they're doing a better job at cleaning up the net front, limiting some of these rush

24:48 chances and supporting the goaltending better.

24:51 But even if you were hitting a stretch here where things weren't working out or, you know,

24:57 players were really struggling defensively, regardless of what the situation has been,

25:02 whether it's Swain or Olmark, both those guys are playing at a high level.

25:05 It's good to see.

25:06 I think Swain has been really strong all year.

25:08 Olmark's had a few, you know, lulls, or maybe it's not, it's probably unfair to say, because

25:13 I think it's just, he's not the same Vezina level, you know, caliber that we saw last

25:18 season, but he's been really, really good, especially as of late.

25:21 So as long as you have both those guys out there, you're going to be in every single

25:24 game.

25:25 There's not going to be a lot of clunkers in a row where you're going to be losing by

25:28 two, three goals this season.

25:30 Yeah, I agree.

25:31 And it'll be interesting this week, obviously the Bruins play the Minnesota Wild twice,

25:36 who I just saw are not going to start Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh, which is an interesting

25:41 move.

25:42 And then the Bruins also play the Winnipeg Jets.

25:45 Hell of a time spending Christmas Eve around Winnipeg.

25:48 That's like basically being in the North Pole.

25:51 You might as well be up there in the North Pole.

25:54 Real quick, Ottawa, let's go DJ Smith.

25:57 That was, I mean, kind of expected.

25:59 I'm surprised it kind of took them this long.

26:02 And I don't think you and I have discussed, I mean, I don't know if we did a podcast

26:05 about it, but or podcasts around it.

26:08 But Craig Berube beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final and is now done in St. Louis.

26:13 So lots of coaching changes, lots of coaching moves.

26:18 You can bet by the way, preseason, you can bet on all that stuff over at FanDuel, which

26:21 is a hell of a choice.

26:23 Get to pick who's going to get fired.

26:25 But anyways, Connor, what can people look forward to from you over at Boston.com and

26:31 the Boston Globe?

26:32 Yeah, we're going to be covered every step of the way this season, whether it's a recap

26:35 features, columns, breakdowns, all that good stuff.

26:38 You can read all of it over at Boston.com.

26:40 And if you want to follow me on Twitter, you can at Connor Ryan on Discord 93.

26:45 Go do all that.

26:47 That's Connor Ryan.

26:48 I'm Evan Marinovsky.

26:49 You Bros Beat listeners have a great rest of your week.

26:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]

Did the Bruins Make the Right Move with Matt Poitras? | Bruins Beat

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