Joe Haggerty is joined today by Conor Ryan of Boston. com and Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald to look ahead to the playoffs and predict what the Bruins' lineup will look like, how Pat Maroon will slot in, how injuries could affect the team, and how the goalie tandem will be used. That, and much more!
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This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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00:00 When you've got two very good goalies, like, listen, we know, we know their best
00:03 bud, you know, they hug you after every game, but like, they've also mentioned
00:06 it themselves, like they're also competitive pro athletes.
00:09 They also feed off of that motivation.
00:11 So if it's a situation like that, where it's, you get the net until you lose.
00:15 And, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a tough break or what have you,
00:19 if a loss is a loss and the other guy gets the net, then you build off of that.
00:28 Welcome to another edition of the pucks with hags podcast powered by prize picks.
00:32 The exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS media network.
00:36 I am your host, Joe Hagerty.
00:37 You can find my work@joehagerty.substack.com.
00:40 Sign up for a premium membership.
00:42 You get all of my NHL and Bruins writing sent straight directly to your inbox.
00:45 I also file columns after every game for the Boston sports journal.
00:49 You can check them out@bostonsportsjournal.com.
00:52 I have with me today, Steve Conroy from the Boston Herald,
00:56 boston.com's Connor Ryan boys.
00:58 Thank you very much for joining us today.
01:00 Thanks for having us.
01:02 Thanks for having me.
01:03 You got it.
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01:59 All right, let's jump right into this.
02:01 Um, 78th episode of the pucks with hags podcast three to nothing win over
02:05 the predators on Tuesday night.
02:07 Um, Steve, your take on this?
02:10 Uh, I saw just excellent defensive game, playoff style game, both teams
02:16 battling for the first two periods, you know, no goals, uh, neither team
02:20 giving in both playoff level type teams going at each other, great goaltending
02:25 as well, and then finally, uh, the Bruins.
02:27 I thought even before they scored that goal, I thought for a few shifts
02:31 before that started to take over the game in the third period, uh, and
02:35 really started to get good offensive chances, you could almost feel that
02:38 goal coming, uh, and it was a great sort of encouraging game with the
02:41 playoffs around the corner, a well-played game by them, especially
02:45 where you and I, and I think Connor was there too, we're at a practice,
02:49 uh, earlier this week or over the weekend where I definitely remember
02:55 you and I, uh, remarking about Jim Montgomery saying they're going to
02:58 pump six on us in the playoffs.
03:00 If you guys play that way and drop it, some F bombs there and just
03:03 lay it into them a little.
03:04 And, uh, they responded with a good defensive effort against Nashville.
03:07 Yeah, it was, it was a great game.
03:10 You know, it's, it was up and down.
03:13 The, the action was up and down and yet there weren't a lot of great scoring
03:18 opportunities, both teams had them, but you know, it wasn't, it wasn't, it was
03:25 back and forth, but it wasn't loose.
03:26 It was, it was a great game to watch.
03:29 Um, you know, usually some of these games, when the Bruins pull them out,
03:34 you, you can, you can pick holes and what they did and what they didn't do.
03:39 I thought it was one of the better games of the year.
03:43 Um, you know, um, defensively, you know, they were able to close this game out,
03:50 you know, you, you know, just a few weeks ago, if they had taken a, uh, you know,
03:54 a two nothing lead or even a one, nothing lead, you know, you know, it's
04:00 white knuckle time to the end, but you know, great play by pastor neck after
04:05 the Charlie Coyle goal, great play to in the defensive zone, taking it all the
04:11 way down, then making that play to Heinen and it makes the play to Zach and
04:15 Bob pretty much the end of the game.
04:17 And then pass it against it with the, with the empty netter.
04:19 Um, it, uh, it was an impressive win.
04:24 You know, we'll see if they can build on, um, on Thursday night in Carolina.
04:30 That's going to be a, that's, that's going to be a really tough game.
04:33 You know, Carolina is starting to play like the team that we all
04:37 thought they were going to be.
04:38 Um, so it's another test.
04:40 I mean, the Bruins have gotten a gift with this schedule down, you
04:43 know, down the stretch here, because if they're playing, you know, you
04:48 know, you know, Carolina, not, um, uh, Chicago and San Jose, there's
04:54 no way of getting ready.
04:55 Yeah.
04:56 There's no way they're getting ready for the playoffs, but this has got them,
04:59 uh, you know, they've been given a gift and they're in the, you know, they're
05:03 taking it.
05:04 Yeah.
05:04 This continues to be a different, a very different scenario than last year.
05:09 In so many respects for this team where they are playing what feels like
05:13 meaningful games down the stretch and they are being challenged and it's not
05:17 like they're sort of rolling in, uh, to the playoffs and just like trying to
05:21 avoid injuries and sort of setting themselves up, um, even at this early
05:25 juncture, uh, to get ready for the post, even, even though they've clinched a
05:28 spot and they know they're in and all that, it doesn't feel the same.
05:32 And a lot of that has to do with the teams that they're playing.
05:34 There's no doubt about it.
05:35 That was a quality game last night.
05:37 All mark had over 30 saves in the game.
05:39 Technically.
05:40 It didn't feel like there were that many scoring chances.
05:42 Uh, he did play well, steal the game, steal the game.
05:46 And that was different from when we saw low scoring games with this team before
05:50 where, you know, they, they might win three to one, but you know, all mark
05:55 had to make a bunch of five-star saves.
05:57 Uh, it felt like periods he was standing on his head and keeping the team in it
06:01 when they were giving up odd man rushes and having lags, uh, defensively or lapses.
06:06 I didn't feel any of that last night.
06:08 Um, I, you know, there was a couple of moments maybe with Mason low-rise where,
06:14 you know, he made a mistake or two and he had to take a penalty at one point.
06:17 Cause McAvoy was way down the ice, uh, trying to keep a play alive defensively.
06:22 But even the play of low-rise within the defensive structure and within
06:26 them playing a defensive game, it didn't feel like there were any
06:30 weak links that made mistakes here.
06:31 It seemed like everybody was sort of locked into playing good defensive
06:34 hockey, doing the best that they could in that regard.
06:36 Not allowing, um, uh, odd man rushes, not being loose defensively and, and
06:41 just the kind of defensive effort you're going to need in the playoffs
06:44 to have success, Connor.
06:45 Yeah, absolutely.
06:46 And I think you look just back at the last couple of weeks here, how important
06:51 these games have been for the Bruins where, uh, I think it's what Jeremy
06:54 Swineman, who always talks about the importance of experience, the Bruins
06:57 have gotten a whole bunch of that these last couple of weeks in terms
06:59 of, uh, these different matchups.
07:01 You got like a team like Florida who not playing very well right now, but
07:05 when they're on their game, you know, they, they have a game that really
07:08 fits well towards the playoffs.
07:10 You have that game against Washington, a very desperate team where again, you
07:14 get to the Stanley cup playoffs.
07:15 You don't have to worry about three on three overtime, anything like that.
07:18 But dealing with adversity in that game, we are killing off penalty
07:21 for four minutes in overtime.
07:23 Um, even look at this game against Nashville, whereas you said like it
07:26 wasn't really a back and forth open ice out there, but that's kind of
07:30 what the playoffs is, right?
07:31 Like the check gets so much tougher.
07:33 There's so much less room to operate.
07:34 It's kind of whoever breaks first and whoever gets maybe more frustrated
07:38 with the pucker makes those lapses in the Bruins are able to capitalize.
07:41 And we've talked all year long about kind of what have been the flaws of this team.
07:47 A lot of it's been, you know, way too loose at the net front defensively,
07:50 giving up way too many chances.
07:52 They really tightened that up over the last couple of games.
07:55 And then you also get their issues with, you know, finishing games off.
07:58 You look at the Bruins in that game, right?
08:00 They get the go ahead, go with Charlie coil on the shorthanded, and
08:03 then they take care of business.
08:04 You haven't really seen it that much from this team.
08:06 There hasn't been a lot of times where one, this team has been able to just
08:09 put teams away and to a sequence where, you know, there's an empty net and
08:14 then not kind of frantically trying to kill plays in their own end of time.
08:17 It's fires.
08:17 Like they took care of business against a very good national team, but on a
08:21 roll for a couple of months now, I think it's just really encouraging to see.
08:24 And I think that could turn out to, to be an important goal that
08:30 Charlie coil scored last night.
08:32 That shorthanded goal to win the game.
08:34 He had one goals in one out of the 14 games during the month of March.
08:40 It was a two goal game, but he only, otherwise he did not have a
08:43 goal in any of the other 13 games.
08:45 He was, I think a minus eight in March.
08:47 He was a minus player going into last night.
08:49 I think he still is.
08:50 He was a plus one last night.
08:51 So I think he's a minus one, but that him dipping into the minus
08:55 just speaks to how tough I think a.
08:57 The month of March and B just basically since the all-star break, and he has
09:01 not been as strong as he was in the first half of the year, even though 24 goals,
09:06 career high, he ties his career high and points last night, the season as a whole
09:11 is going to look very strong at the end, no matter what, and look like probably
09:15 has been at best NHL season, but, but Connor, I feel like last night was a
09:20 game for coil to build on and get back.
09:23 To what he was doing in the first half of the year and the player he was for
09:27 them because they're going to need him for so much, like he's in like the top
09:30 five, I think in the NHL and face-offs taken this year, he takes all the big
09:34 face-offs for the Bruins.
09:35 He plays all the tough, big minutes.
09:37 He plays in all situations and they need him to produce, produce, produce like
09:41 Patrice Bergeron, uh, you know, when he was playing in that, that top center
09:45 spot with Brad Marsh in, and I think last night was sort of a building block game
09:49 where I think getting that result and just playing well, uh, can get him back
09:53 going in the right direction with the playoffs around the corner.
09:56 Yeah, you're going to need Charlie coil to kind of be your Swiss army knife out
10:00 there.
10:00 And it's one thing where you look at last year, how many kind of taxing
10:03 defensive assignments do you be dealing with as kind of your third line center,
10:06 but to now most likely be the kind of shut down line in the playoffs.
10:12 When you look at the fact that you're not really, I don't think going to throw
10:14 out like the bulk was line as kind of how they've used, you know, Thomas no
10:19 sick, or, you know, the Corelli line in the past, uh, coil is one going to be
10:24 tasked with driving play down the other end of the ice while also dealing with a
10:27 lot of really, really tough matchups.
10:29 So as you said, like he's been a central this year, not only just the.
10:33 The baseline production, which I think people are pleasantly surprised with, but
10:37 if his defensive game is lacking or he's not, you know, driving play, you know,
10:41 with guys like Brad Marsh and addictive Russ, this team is, you know, suffering
10:45 down both ends of the ice.
10:46 You just can't have that for my guy.
10:48 Who's so important to this team.
10:50 So I think as you said, Joe, the way this team is built and how Charlie coil is and
10:56 how important he is to this team overall, it's one thing just to step in and be a
11:01 top line center and be on pace for, you know, a potential 60 point year, but.
11:04 For what he's done defensively as well.
11:07 Um, he's been huge for this team in terms of what has been asked of him kind of in
11:11 this first feature role this season.
11:13 Yeah.
11:14 In a big place, Steve, for coil definitely.
11:17 And also for Marsh and, uh, you know, reading that play taking off and all
11:22 Mark being able to get the puck all the way up there when he just was trying
11:25 to get it out of the zone.
11:26 Um, but he makes, you know, something out of nothing by taking the puck
11:30 and then feeding coil, the two of them do.
11:32 Uh, but I, you know, I, for a long time, I didn't feel, feel like Marsh
11:37 hand was feeling the pressure, uh, of the, you know, the big goal that's
11:40 coming up next for him, the milestone goal, but like watching him now on some
11:45 of the power plays that they're on and seeing them try to force plays at times
11:48 and do things a little out of the norm for him, even though he's had some
11:52 really good games in here and, you know, there, there've been a couple of games
11:55 where it looked like he was determined.
11:56 Uh, the Florida game, for example, uh, he was determined that the team was going
12:00 to win and you saw him making plays.
12:02 But I think the, seeing the two of them combined on a, on a game winning
12:06 goal last night, when maybe they haven't been at their strongest, um, since the
12:10 all-star break was an encouraging sign with the postseason around the corner.
12:13 Yeah.
12:14 Yeah.
12:15 And they, uh, Joe Sacco and the Bruins definitely, you know, hit on something
12:19 with the penalty kill last night because they were causing Nashville big time
12:24 problems standing up at the blue line and, you know, uh, Tali McEvoy had a breakaway.
12:30 But yeah, I, I mean, my shand, I really do think is it's starting to weigh on him.
12:35 No, not just the milestone goal, but just the fact that he's not, he's not scoring.
12:40 It's just not, not coming very easily to him.
12:42 He's contributing in other ways.
12:44 And I'm sure that's, you know, he's been running long enough to know
12:47 that's, that's all that matters really.
12:49 But, you know, it would be nice to see him to be more of a threat to score.
12:54 Um, and also to be a little stronger on the puck.
12:58 Um, he's had a lot of giveaways, um, in, you know, there was a time in his career
13:06 where he had the puck on, on a string and he could do anything with the puck.
13:11 And now he's trying certain moves that just, you know, he's
13:14 not pulling them off anymore.
13:16 And he's got to kind of figure out a way, you know, how am I going to get by this
13:19 guy without, without giving him a quick, you know, shimmy shake.
13:22 Um, so he's got to, he's got to deal with that.
13:26 Um, and I think, you know, when he gets better, you know, Coyle's
13:30 numbers will come up too, obviously.
13:32 Um, and, and, you know, I think, I think Coyle has been fine.
13:40 Um, they do need him to produce.
13:42 Um, but you're right last night that that play was, was, you know,
13:47 something that they can build on.
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14:43 Uh, Linus Ulmark, like we obviously there were a ton of, you know, grade A
14:52 chances.
14:53 He did make a couple of good saves, but I thought in general he was just really
14:56 strong.
14:57 Uh, positionally he was where he needed to be.
15:00 He was calm.
15:00 He was making good plays, uh, with the puck for the most part.
15:04 Like he gets an assist on that, uh, the game winning goal.
15:07 Uh, cause he was able to recognize what was going on, that he just needed to get
15:11 the puck out of the zone and was able to do it.
15:13 And something good happened from a good play that he made a good smart play with
15:16 the puck that he made.
15:17 Um, four, three and one 1.57 goals against 947 save percentage now in his last eight
15:24 games, seven starts.
15:25 Um, he's been excellent, uh, since the all-star break and, and definitely since
15:32 the trade deadline.
15:33 Um, Steve, what do you do at this point with, you know, only a little more than a
15:40 handful of games left, uh, when it comes to the playoffs with the goaltending,
15:45 because like, Oh, Mark is obviously an excellent swimmers.
15:48 Swain's numbers have not been as good, but Swain had wins in both of the Toronto
15:53 games played well in those games played well in the game that they won against
15:57 Florida.
15:58 Um, has been put in a lot of big games down the stretch, uh, that the team sort
16:03 of playoff style, win statement wins that the Bruins wanted to make.
16:06 He was the guy in the net for a lot of those games, even though the numbers have
16:10 been mixed and, you know, at times maybe he's led in a soft goal here or there
16:15 since the all-star break that he didn't allow beforehand.
16:19 You know, what, what would you do?
16:21 What do you think the Bruins are going to do?
16:22 A and what do you, what would you do with the goaltending at this point with
16:25 the way the guys are going?
16:26 Well, I mean, we've got six, six games to go.
16:31 It was six games.
16:32 Yes.
16:32 Uh, and, um, you know, I'll let, I'll let it play out because both, both play,
16:38 both goalies are playing very well right now.
16:40 I think if the season, if the postseason started today, I'd go with all mark to
16:45 start.
16:45 Um, as far as whether you, uh, rotate the guys in the playoffs, I'm curious to see
16:54 it.
16:54 I have my doubts about it.
16:57 Uh, I did, there's just so many different scenarios where you say you're gonna,
17:01 you're gonna change the goalie now.
17:03 You know, what if, what if, you know, goalie a loses game one goalie B comes in
17:11 wins game two, you're going to go back to goalie a for game three.
17:14 It just, it's, I'm fascinated to see how it plays out.
17:18 Um, but I w I, if, if it, if the player started today, I would go with all mark.
17:24 I just think he's, he's just a little more on top of his game right now.
17:28 There are fewer holes.
17:31 I would say he just looks a little bigger in net right now.
17:34 Um, then then Swainman.
17:36 So that's the way I would go.
17:38 Yeah.
17:39 I, he definitely has been better.
17:41 There's no question.
17:41 I mean, the numbers are better, but I do think also.
17:44 I I'm, I'm sort of reading into how the Bruins have used swimming down the stretch,
17:50 the, the year that he's had as a whole.
17:53 Um, a lot of it, I know is going to factor into the way that they're
17:56 playing at the very time, right before the playoff start.
17:59 So right now, um, but like in one thing, I would also start them for one other
18:05 reason, and that's that he has not started a playoff series since he's been here.
18:10 The other guy has always constantly gotten game one, start, gotten a few games.
18:15 And then he gets thrown into these tough positions later on in the
18:18 series where I'd like to see.
18:21 Uh, especially before you're going to, you know, potentially give him a
18:23 bigger contract, a lot more money.
18:25 I'd like to see him start a playoff series, see how he responds to that and
18:30 see what he can do in that position versus we've seen all Mark do that a few times
18:35 now, and we sorta, I think have a, a little bit more of a track record on how
18:39 all Mark is going to perform or how he's going to respond, um, to the playoff
18:42 pressure to, you know, playing every other day, like all that stuff.
18:46 Um, you know, and I also think that somebody, I forget who it was mentioned
18:52 this to me, one way you could do it with the rotation is you play them until they
18:58 lose, right?
18:59 So you start swam in, loses game one, you go to all Mark in game two, you know,
19:04 hopefully he wins game two, if you're the Bruins, and then you go back and forth
19:08 and you basically, you keep the guy in there until he loses, and then you take
19:11 him out and put the other guy in.
19:13 I mean, that's the ultimate motivator.
19:15 That's the ultimate incentive.
19:16 It's certainly a fair way to do it.
19:17 I think in a lot of respects, um, obviously there are times when a goalie
19:21 plays great and the team still loses.
19:23 And, you know, that would be a tough luck situation if that happens.
19:27 But, um, Connor, where are you at with the goaltending right now?
19:30 What do you think the Bruins will do, um, in game one and for the playoffs
19:34 and what would you like to see them do?
19:35 Yeah.
19:37 I mean, I think for right now, I'd probably go with all Mark in game one,
19:40 just cause I think he's just been the hotter goalie down the stretch here.
19:43 Um, and then again, I think when you look at, uh, the way they handled
19:47 these last six games, I'd still go back and forth with both of them.
19:50 Right.
19:50 I think you want to see if a Mark can kind of keep this kind of hot
19:54 stretching God going into the playoffs.
19:56 Um, see if he can keep that up.
19:57 And also for Jeremy Swainman, like, I think he's obviously had a bit of a
20:01 rough stretch here, but he's starting to build his game back a little
20:03 bit more you've seen as of late.
20:05 So you give him another three games down the stretch and he gives you one of those.
20:10 You know, 31 saves on 32 shots, kind of like the game he needs
20:14 to kind of get back on track.
20:15 That'd be huge for him because I do think the Bruins hope to
20:19 use both goalies in the playoffs.
20:20 Again, that's something easier to mention now, uh, in, uh, early April,
20:25 then when the playoffs actually begin.
20:27 But I think if the Bruins are committed to rolling with both those guys, I do
20:31 think it's probably going to be a situation where it's more field-based
20:35 more, you know, guy gets that until he loses, but I kind of look at just
20:39 how it was last year for like the Florida series, where they kind
20:43 of deviated from the script.
20:44 And all of a sudden, as you said, you put women in an awful spot in game seven.
20:48 Like you look at even just that, that game five and obviously lost the game
20:52 before that, but that game five where.
20:54 Yeah.
20:54 All of a sudden, he started to wear down a little bit, has that really bad
20:59 miscue Matthew Chuck scores, Swainman in game six, give you a little bit of life.
21:03 Give you a little bit of motivation.
21:05 If you, you win that game and you quench the series, Swainman gets the net for
21:08 the next series, all marks, probably a little ticked, gets that competitive
21:11 fire going, and that's what you're hoping for in terms of this tandem.
21:15 When you've got two very good goalies, like, listen, we know, we know
21:18 their best bud, you know, they hug you after every game, but like, they've
21:21 also mentioned it themselves.
21:22 Like they're also competitive pro athletes.
21:24 They also feed off of that motivation.
21:26 So if it's a situation like that, where it's, you get the net until you lose.
21:30 And, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a tough break or what have you, a loss
21:35 is a loss and the other guy gets the net, then you build off of that.
21:38 Right.
21:38 I don't think it's going to be something where if the Bruins are really committed.
21:41 Do like a goalie rotation.
21:43 It's, you know, you hear it from some sports radio station.
21:46 They're just going to go back and forth.
21:48 Like there's no ordained goalie rules that they're like, well, you know, all
21:52 March has had a 36 save shutout, you know, in game two, but we have to go with Swainman.
21:57 It's like, no, you got to post a shutout.
21:59 You're going to roll with them again until he loses.
22:01 I think that's the way you have to look at it.
22:02 It has to be, uh, you know, I think more field-based and I think it
22:06 all comes down to winter lock.
22:07 Yeah, I agree.
22:09 And I, yeah, I don't, I got another caveat.
22:11 I got another caveat.
22:12 If it's Toronto, I go with Swainman.
22:16 Yeah.
22:16 Cause he won both of those games and he played well.
22:19 It's been a good matchup for him.
22:20 Yeah.
22:21 Yeah.
22:21 And it's, it's going to be interesting to see how he finished off that Washington
22:27 game may have gotten them back on track.
22:29 We'll see tomorrow night.
22:30 I'm assuming he's going tomorrow night.
22:32 So it's gonna, it's, it's fascinating, uh, to see what they're going to do.
22:38 Like you said, it's probably going to be field-based.
22:40 Um, but it's, it's going to be something that everybody around
22:45 the league is going to be watching.
22:47 Yeah, because it's not the trend and it's not what I think hockey coaches
22:51 are comfortable doing is sort of going back and forth and we haven't
22:54 seen that in a long time.
22:55 You know, that I can't remember a time when that's happened with the Bruins
22:58 going back to the Lemelin, uh, Moog days.
23:01 Like that's the last time I remember sort of seeing, you know, them going
23:04 back and forth with guys in a playoff series based on feel or how they were
23:08 playing or whatever, and, and I don't, I, to your point, Connor, I don't think
23:12 it's going to be one of those situations where it's going to be like swimming
23:15 and getting one, Oh, marking game two, swimming in game three.
23:18 And like, we have to stay like alternating, like it's not going to be.
23:21 Um, and it shouldn't be, it should be whoever the coaches, goalie, Bob
23:26 Montgomery, Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, whoever's, you know, got a voice in
23:30 there, whoever they think is going to give them the best chance to win.
23:33 Whoever they think is the right choice to start in the game.
23:37 And to your other point, I still will continue to say.
23:40 Swain should have started game five in that series last year.
23:43 Like that was the time to put him into that series.
23:46 If you were looking to close it out, if you were, you know, if you were looking
23:50 to get the other goalie into the series and get him to play, it had been a while
23:54 since he'd play, like, if you wait a few more days, there's really going to be
23:58 rough starting to gather up on the goaltender.
24:00 Like you got to get them in there at some point, that was the right time to do it.
24:03 Especially where you were up in the series.
24:05 It made a lot of sense.
24:06 Um, and they didn't, and you know, the rest is history.
24:09 Brad Marsh and we'll continue to blame himself for not putting away, uh, the
24:12 breakaway at the, at the end of the game.
24:14 But, um, you know, it'll be interesting to see how they do, uh, how it goes.
24:20 I think that's one of the things that the whole league, I think you're
24:23 right, is going to be watching.
24:24 Um, one down note from last night's feel good.
24:27 Three to nothing.
24:28 When, uh, Justin Prezot looked like he suffered a shoulder injury, took a big
24:32 hit from Luke Shen, uh, in the middle of the ice, kind of an awkward hit.
24:36 It looked like he was sort of trying to get out of the way or sidestep it.
24:39 Instead is, uh, his shoulder took the full brunt.
24:41 It looked like he was kind of like, have it had that weird sort of, you
24:45 know, arm hang thing going on.
24:47 That usually is a telltale sign with the shoulder injuries too,
24:50 when he was coming off the ice.
24:51 Uh, Steve, this is a big injury.
24:53 Like he was a guy that played very well for them.
24:56 Um, had been a guy that below the goal lines could control pucks, uh, win
25:01 battles, uh, was finishing off plays.
25:03 The net was a power play, productive power play guy in that second unit.
25:08 Like had come on to become what I think could have been a factor in the playoffs
25:12 based on size strength, what he brings to the table could have been a big deal.
25:16 And if it turns out to be like some kind of serious injury, it's, it's, could
25:20 be an important development for them.
25:22 Yeah.
25:22 Hopefully it's not, it definitely looked like a shoulder, uh, the way, you know,
25:26 his arm was extended and, you know, it was just a bad looking hit.
25:31 Um, and when he goes immediately down the tunnel, you know, you say to yourself,
25:37 Oh, he knows something's wrong.
25:38 Yeah.
25:38 Yeah.
25:39 Um, so that's a, that would be a tough break if he misses playoff time.
25:43 Um, because of it.
25:45 Um, we don't know yet what's going to happen.
25:48 Um, but yeah, even if that fourth line isn't scoring, they were controlling
25:54 plays, they were keeping, you know, keeping the play in the offensive zone.
25:59 I mean, he was winning pucks, even when it looked like, you know, it was a, it
26:07 was a 70, 30 puck the other way.
26:09 Yeah.
26:10 Um, uh, it's, it's a tough blow for him, especially personally with what he's
26:15 been through to get to this point.
26:17 Um, so hopefully he's not out too long.
26:19 Yeah.
26:20 I mean, size and strength plays in the playoffs, you know, a big six foot guy
26:26 that's strong, that, uh, can win puck battles that can overpower, uh, opponents
26:31 that can be a big body in front of the net, just carving out space.
26:34 Like all of those things play in the playoffs, all those things become bigger
26:38 factors.
26:38 Um, the Bruins have to hope, uh, he's going to be healthy and good to go.
26:43 And that, you know, there's not going to be like a strength deficit, deficit
26:47 issues or something, you know, him playing through an injury, that's going
26:50 to need a surgery after the year is over or something like that, if he does come
26:54 back, um, that they have to hope that he ends up bouncing back from this one,
26:58 because I think they need him at this point.
27:00 Yeah, no, absolutely.
27:02 I mean, it's something where I remember when he first got called up, the kind
27:05 of scouting for it was like, yeah, he's a big body, but he's not this super
27:08 physical guy, but I don't know, like six, six, five, two 20 is six, five, two 20.
27:13 So when you're trying to win a puck battle against that guy, you're going to
27:16 lose, uh, more times than not.
27:18 And as you guys said, like, you'll take the productions been there.
27:21 I think he's been good when he's been on the second power play unit, just
27:24 being at that front, he's shown that he has maybe better hands than we all kind
27:28 of thought.
27:29 Um, the big knock against him was speed, but he's kind of kept tempo, at least
27:33 in terms of what the NHL has been so far.
27:35 That's what Jim Montgomery mentioned last time about how he's kind of fit in
27:39 and how he's kind of acclimated to this game.
27:41 So, you know, he's a big loss.
27:42 And I think Steve, as you said, like, even when they're not scoring, like
27:46 a lot of times they're still extending play in the offensive zone.
27:49 And a lot of it has to do with.
27:50 Fresno winning puck battles.
27:52 There's been also many times where like his reach of being able to like all of a
27:56 sudden grab a puck.
27:56 That's kind of just widening across the ice, getting, getting it back, feeding
28:00 back out to the blue line, doing just all those little things that may not end in a
28:04 goal, but usually ends with a lot of time spent down the other end of the ice.
28:08 Um, so he's been a really important peacock to that fourth line.
28:11 So if he does miss time, it's, it's going to be a big loss for the Bruins
28:15 because as you said, Joe, like he's the kind of guy that seems like he'd be
28:19 destined for a big goal or a big game or a big moment in one of these playoff
28:22 games when there's not a whole lot of ice out there.
28:25 And he, he played well enough that like he was getting some looks on other
28:30 lines and he deserved them.
28:31 And he certainly has shown that he can play up, uh, with, with better, you
28:35 know, more skilled players too.
28:36 Um, with the way he thinks offensively with the skills that he has, like he can
28:42 play up in a higher role, uh, potentially as well, and it, that leads me to.
28:47 Sort of wondering where this is going as far as the forward depth and the
28:52 defenseman depth and who's in and who's out come playoff time.
28:55 And obviously there's still a handful of games left and, you know, Montgomery,
28:59 the other day when he talked to us and said, there's still a lot up for grabs
29:02 and the, and things that he's evaluating and looking at, um, Steve, how do you
29:05 see this, um, laying out forward and defenseman wise and throwing the Brazil
29:12 injury in, into the mix as well.
29:14 Who do you think is on the outside looking in at this point?
29:17 Because I, before last night, I thought James Van Riemsdyk was definitely on
29:21 the outside, uh, and could be a guy that ends up not, you know, in the lineup to
29:26 start the playoffs just based on, you know, the way things are going, certainly
29:30 with Brazil in there with Maroon coming back to like all the different factors
29:34 at play, um, and the way they'd been using them lately and the fact that he
29:37 hadn't been frankly that effective, like there was a little more battle.
29:40 I thought in him a few times last night and I'd noticed him a little bit more
29:44 last night than I had, uh, previously, but I still look at him potentially as
29:48 a guy that might be on the outside looking in if everybody's healthy and
29:52 everything is, you know, as it is going into the post season.
29:54 Yeah, he was, he was a little better last night.
29:58 Um, Yeah, the Brazil thing throws it, you know, throws it into a tailspin
30:04 here as to, you know, who's going to be in and out, you know, if he was, if
30:10 Brazil was back in and, you know, we'll, we'll, we'll go with that.
30:13 I would, I would stick with Brazil obviously there.
30:16 Uh, and, and I would probably take JVR out.
30:20 I want to take a look at Maroon on that third line.
30:22 Yeah.
30:23 You know, I'd like, I wish they could see him a little earlier than that Pittsburgh
30:29 game, but I guess that's the best case scenario they're going with now anyway.
30:33 Um, so I'd like, I'd like to see him there, uh, on that third line
30:38 with, with geeky and, and Frederick.
30:40 And, you know, I want to keep a Beecher in there, uh, on, you know, playing the,
30:45 you know, left wing slash center, uh, with, um, with Boquist and, and Brazil,
30:51 um, on the backend, it's still kind of up in the air, um, Uh, that, that third
30:59 pair with peak in Shattenkirk, which, you know, if you told me two weeks ago,
31:03 that's your third period, I'd say you're crazy, but it's been pretty good.
31:07 I think Andrew Peek's been very good.
31:09 Like he's been solid.
31:10 Yeah.
31:11 For what he's been asked to do.
31:14 Um, whether it's Waterspoon or, uh, or Grizzly.
31:20 Carlo, you know, that's a, that's a tough call.
31:27 I think Grizzly can bring something.
31:29 Um, he's had, you know, an up and down year and said some injuries.
31:34 I'm not playing a low ride to start the series, the start of the first series.
31:38 He's just, he's just not there yet.
31:40 I don't think, um, he's, he moves the puck, you know, a little too fast.
31:45 Sometimes, um, doesn't always get in there first when he can get in there first.
31:50 Um, so I think he's still got a long way to go as far as, you know, learning the
31:55 game, you know, if somebody is injured, I'm okay with him going in.
32:00 Yeah.
32:01 I think he's shown that, but I don't think he's, he's, he's, he's
32:04 ready to be a game one, you know, in the lineup.
32:07 Um, so it looks like, you know, but for now it looks like they may be going with,
32:13 with McAvoy and Lindholm on that top pairing.
32:16 Um, and then you got Carlo.
32:18 I like the way the two of them have played together, you know, two solid games, two
32:22 wins. Why not do it?
32:23 Yeah.
32:24 And then you got Carlo and do you go, do you go with, you don't go with, I don't
32:30 go with Laura. Do you go with Watherspoon or do you go to go with, um, with Grislyk?
32:36 I think that's what it's up to right now.
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33:59 Connor, what, uh, what do you project, uh, as far as who's in, who's out forwards
34:04 D at this point, knowing that, you know, things may change a little bit, uh, with
34:07 a couple of weeks still to go.
34:09 Yeah, I still think JVR is kind of the big piece up front in terms of whether
34:13 you can just get his game back.
34:14 And it's kind of similar to, was it, I think two years ago when Frederick was
34:18 dealing with an illness and it felt like he took forever to kind of get back up
34:21 and do a swing of things.
34:22 And then JVR has lost a bunch of weight.
34:24 You got that on top of the fact that you're trying to get your legs back.
34:27 He's not, uh, the most sweet of foot guy, you know, even at this,
34:31 this stage of his career.
34:33 So, uh, for right now, you know, it's been tough circumstances, but the
34:37 production is what it is.
34:38 And it really hasn't been there for him over the last month plus right now.
34:42 So I do think you have to get maroon in that lineup and see where he best fits.
34:46 But if, you know, if Breslau is out, that impacts things in terms of JVR and
34:51 where he fits in, but if Breslau is good to go, I think you want to see what a
34:55 guy like Maroon can do with kind of a puck possession, heavier line with, with
34:59 Geeky and Frederick.
35:00 Um, you know, as much as Maroon, I think is characterized as just a, you know,
35:04 bruising guy.
35:05 I got that out there to, to land welts.
35:08 Um, still can make some plays, you know, had 16 points in 48 games with, uh, with
35:12 Minnesota.
35:13 So he can still give you something there, especially if he's on that line with
35:17 Frederick and he, he that's very straight line, simplified puck possession, kind
35:20 of hockey.
35:21 So I think JVR and whether he can find his game is the biggest key beyond
35:25 Brazos injury.
35:26 And then for defense, I think it comes down to probably just how you, how
35:31 Montgomery wants to structure those deep that decor, right?
35:33 Because if you asked me a few days ago, I'd probably be like chatting tricks,
35:37 the odd man out, you go with birds, like McAvoy, Lindholm, Carlo, and then
35:41 whether a spoon peak is kind of your meat and potatoes on flashy third pair
35:46 that I think probably can hold up pretty well in the playoffs.
35:49 But we've seen with Lindholm and McAvoy, the return has been really solid so
35:53 far.
35:53 You run the risk of maybe that being just your top heavy kind of, uh, decor,
35:58 but I don't know, like starting Feinberg, pretty good when you overloaded that
36:01 kind of group as well.
36:02 So if they're playing 30 minutes a night or close to it, that's fine.
36:06 You know, like play 28, 27 minutes a night, cut the game in half, have your
36:13 best pairing out there, almost half of the game or close to it.
36:16 And, you know, take your chances with the other pairings for, you know, the
36:19 other half of the game and play who's playing best.
36:22 And I'm all for that.
36:24 I think that's something that they haven't done enough with those two.
36:28 I think it helps Lindholm tremendously, to be honest with you.
36:31 I don't think it's a coincidence that Lindholm has looked better in the last
36:35 few games playing with McAvoy.
36:37 Um, I think it helps the both of them to play together, to be honest with you.
36:40 And it gets the most out of them.
36:43 Um, even if it was interesting though, when I asked Monty about that the other
36:46 day and he talked about his biggest con was whether two alpha males can, uh,
36:51 can handle being on the same pairing together, uh, with the two of them.
36:55 I thought it was interesting that he went there and that's what his biggest
36:57 worry was, um, rather than worrying about like getting, you know, as much as he
37:02 can out of the other pairings and them not being on the ice for the other
37:05 parts of the game.
37:06 Uh, but just in general, I agree.
37:08 I think, uh, I think if you put, uh, Lindholm and McAvoy together up, up top,
37:13 you know, there are different combinations you're looking at now.
37:16 The big question, I guess, Connor is if Grizzlik will be in there.
37:20 Uh, and if you, you know, and if he stays in there and there's also a history of
37:25 injuries with him, cause he's not the biggest guy in the world and he gets
37:28 targeted once the playoffs start.
37:29 So it'll be interesting to watch that.
37:31 Yeah, no, I think it all comes down to you and what Grizzlik best fits in.
37:35 Cause if he had a good rapport with a guy like Carlo, then you could say, all
37:38 right, you, you slot him in there.
37:40 He's maybe, uh, again, we, we know the discourse, we know the, the worry with
37:44 Grizzlik of how he's going to handle himself in the playoffs.
37:46 We've gone through this multiple years now, but like, is Shattenkirk a better
37:51 option there when he kind of maybe has those same flaws as being kind of a
37:55 playmaking defenseman who's not really.
37:57 Attuned or able to withstand kind of the floor check that's out there.
38:00 So I think Grizzlik probably gives you the safer option.
38:03 It just depends on where he best fits.
38:05 Cause we know he fits pretty well with McAvoy.
38:08 We know they read off each other really well, but if McAvoy and Lindholm are
38:12 playing at a high level and it's, you're trying to, uh, you know, fit a square
38:16 peg into a round hole where Grizzlik best fits, then you got a problem.
38:20 All right.
38:21 I think, uh, I think Grizzlik has been miscast.
38:25 I mean, I know he has good chemistry with McAvoy, but you get to the playoffs
38:30 and you're seeing, you know, those first lines.
38:32 It's just, they can exploit him to hold up.
38:35 It's hard to exploit him defensively.
38:37 You know, they, you know, not only like go after him and try to take
38:41 them out with heavy hits, but they can, they know how to exploit
38:44 them defensively in the playoffs.
38:45 You know, when he gets, I mean, his, his best, best time as a Bruin, I think
38:51 was when he's been on a third pair with a physical guy, like a Kevin Miller type of guy.
38:55 You know, maybe that could be Andrew, Andrew peak, you know, we
38:58 haven't really seen that yet.
39:00 So, so, you know, it'll be interesting to see how, and if he fits in.
39:06 Yeah.
39:07 And we all know defenseman start dropping like flies, unfortunately, in the playoffs
39:12 with injuries and attrition and everything else.
39:14 So I'm sure we'll see all kinds of combinations and to your point, Steve, I'm sure we'll see
39:17 Mason Lowry at some point too, because I'm with you.
39:20 I don't think you start with him, but I think at some point you do.
39:23 A want to be able to go to him if there's injuries and be like, get him some playoff
39:28 experience too, as part of his whole, you know, sort of development program for this
39:33 year to get them, you know, maybe up and running to being a, you know, a full service guy next
39:38 year that they can use all the time.
39:40 Tweet of the week from BA Morrow 31.
39:45 Never thought I would say this, but I think Danton Heinen is a must re-sign for the Boston
39:49 Bruins.
39:50 I think so.
39:52 Like, obviously he's great value this year, 775 K had to sing for a supper with a tryout
39:59 agreement in training camp.
40:00 Finally got the contract towards the end of October has been excellent.
40:04 15 goals, 32 points had to assist last night, makes a great pass to Pavel Zaka on that second
40:10 goal after Pasternak did a really good job of getting it up the ice and carrying it up
40:15 the wing.
40:15 And, and it's shown that he can, he's probably going to be in a top six role to start the
40:21 playoffs, you know, like he's played with Zaka and Pasternak and been very, very good.
40:25 I think he's a guy that you're comfortable with that.
40:29 You can still look at as somebody that you produced, drafted, developed all that stuff,
40:33 Steve.
40:34 And you want him, you want him back in the fold next year, as long as it's good value.
40:39 Yeah.
40:40 And I, I like the confidence he's showed, especially last night, early in the game,
40:46 he had what looked like a two on one with Pasternak.
40:49 And, you know, it wasn't a great passing lane, but maybe early in the season, he forces that
40:54 pass.
40:55 He took the shot, you know, and he didn't score on it.
40:58 But I, I thought that that spoke to the confidence that he's feeling right now in his ability
41:04 to play with those players.
41:05 He's way more assertive just in general this year with the puck, with carrying it up the
41:12 ice, with making plays much less deferential than he was when he was here before when,
41:18 you know, you'd put him out there with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marcian or situations like
41:22 that.
41:22 And you could see he was very deferential.
41:24 He was trying to stay out of their way, give them the puck like he, you much more noticeable
41:30 as a player, just offensively and carrying the puck now and much more of a complete player.
41:35 I think that's added a lot to this team, Connor, this year.
41:38 Yeah.
41:39 And it's funny, you look back at the off season when you're in like the middle of July,
41:43 I think there's a lot more doom and gloom with this, with this fan base, when Bergeron
41:47 and Krejci retiring, you're losing, you're trading Taylor Hall, you're losing Bertuzzi.
41:52 If you told Bruins fans at that time that, all right, you're top stick, we're bringing
41:56 it back to Ganton Heinen, next to Pavel Zakh and David Pazranek, people would probably
42:00 be losing their minds.
42:00 But no, he's been great.
42:02 And he's been, you know, we kind of know what kind of player he is in terms of a steady,
42:08 you generally unflashy, solid two-way guy.
42:10 But as you said, he's been a lot more, I think, determined with the puck, a lot more assertive.
42:15 And it helps when you're playing with a guy like David Pazranek, but he's been driving
42:19 play by himself.
42:19 I mean, he said like some of these last few games, he's been really aggressive, making
42:24 the sound smart plays, feeding into guys like Zaka, who's playing really well, as of late,
42:29 David Pazranek, we always know he's going to be productive in the offensive zone.
42:33 So if the value is there, yeah, he's the guy that, you know, whether it's a top six role
42:38 moving forward, I mean, the Bruins have outscored teams 12 to four with that line out so far.
42:43 It's been a pretty solid sample size.
42:45 But even if he ends up being pushed further down the lineup to a third line guy, a fourth
42:51 line guy down the road, like he's a guy you really don't have to worry about.
42:54 You can kind of plug him in wherever, you know, he's not going to, I think, actually
42:58 hamper whatever line he's on.
42:59 Yeah, versatility, definitely part of the value package with Danton Hynd being able
43:04 to do a lot of different things.
43:05 Thank you very much, Steve and Connor.
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43:52 Steve, Connor, thank you very much.
43:53 Thanks, Joe.
43:56 All right, guys.
43:56 Thank you for listening.
43:57 See you, Connor.
43:58 We'll see you at the ring.
44:09 [MUSIC]