Struggling Seth Griffith demoted, David Pastrnak scores after promotion

(Photo by the Associated Press)

by Dakota Antelman

When David Pastrnak was not included on the Bruins opening day roster, the general understanding within the Bruins organization was that said exclusion was temporary. When Pastrnak scored two goals in a 3-1 win over the Flyers, his first game since being called up to the team, the general consensus was that he was here to stay.

Such a fact is a happy one for Bruins fans who have witnessed this team struggle through multiple stretches of time without a consistent goal scoring winger. For one specific Bruin though it marks the probable end to his time with the team.

As Pastrnak celebrated his two goal outburst vs the Flyers, rookie winger Seth Griffith was demoted to the AHL Providence Bruins.

Despite playing 30 of the first 43 games of this season for the Bruins, Griffith’s recent slump, which saw him score just 1 goal in 15 games, proved him too much for the team to carry; especially after Pastrnak’s emergence.

Griffith will likely play on the first line in Providence; but barring any unforeseen injuries to any of the Bruins wingers; it could be a while before fans see him again in Boston.

In the meantime, Pastrnak will be enjoying his first extended stint in the NHL. He has surely earned it. After spending much of this season maturing in Providence and dominating on a world stage over in the World Junior Classic, his coaches recognize the vast improvements he has made to his game even since this year’s preseason.

“He's been skating well and he makes things happen. He's starting to feel a little better around David Krejci and understanding how David plays,” said coach Claude Julien.

Pastrnak played a lights out game on the Bruins second line consisting of David Krejci and Milan Lucic vs the Flyers. Both his goals came on pinpoint, cross crease passes from Krejci while throughout the game he and the seasoned Bruins center were connecting to move the puck up the ice.

“They're both smart players and they always get themselves in positions where they can make things happen," Julien said. "(Krejci) is going to find guys that are open, Pastrnak is a guy who knows where to go, so it was nice to see. He skates well, puts Ds on their heels with their speed. And at the same time, he's showing he's really coming around with his game without the puck.”

Things will only get better for Pastrnak and Krejci who are both team players who benefit from time spent with each other.

“The last game (against New Jersey) was the first one for us together, so we just had to take the time to get used to each other and find each other on the ice,” said Pastrnak on the subject of his second goal vs the Flyers. “I think every game it will get better, but he found me. It wasn't that hard to score that second one.”

Much of the Flyers game seemed effortless for Pastrnak. He hit with ease and pinpointed possession grabs like some of the defensive forwards the Bruins cherish. He logged 16 minutes of ice time and showed extreme athleticism in his skating and his endurance late in the game.

Though there is still room for improvement in the future, the present Pastrnak looked pretty good vs Philadelphia. A prolonged stretch of the kind of scoring he brought to the table in that game would work wonders in helping move the Bruins up in the NHL standings. 

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Bruins needing to change their shootout approach following loss to Maple Leafs

(Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

As much as the NHL knows how much fans and players alike seem to hate the convention of the shootout, the absolute way of determining a winner in EVERY hockey game has it going nowhere.

As a result, the Bruins, who were most recently hurt by the shootout in New Year’s Eve game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are in desperate need of an internal overhaul to their approach to the shootout. With it likely being a part of hockey for many years to come, the Bruins need to find out how to win shootouts. This is simply because right now, that is not happening.

Their December 31^st game that ultimately ended in the shootout loss began uneventfully. The Bruins fell behind 1-0 but kept pace when Tuukka Rask stopped a key penalty shot in the first period. The Bruins came back firing following the first intermission, tying the game and eventually trading goals with the Maple Leafs in the second period. They finished regulation tied with the Leafs at three goals a-piece.

After bouncing through overtime without a game winning goal, the game went to the shootout.

The TD Garden rang with boos of the shootout convention while its few supporters tried to explain its rules to still others who did not understand it.

As the Zamboni drove off the ice and the administrators of the dry scrape walked down the maintenance tunnel, the Bruins and Maple Leafs conferred with officials.   

The home Bruins elected to have Toronto shoot first as they finalized their own shooters.

Needless to say even that was not enough to stave off the shifty shootout goals and five round win enjoyed by the Leafs.

But it was not their talent that doomed Boston, it was the Bruins’ own mismanagement of their shooters that prevented them from closing out 2014 on a winning note.

Accounting for the sudden death rounds of the shootout, the Bruins sent five shooters to center ice. They started with Reilly Smith, then they sent Tory Krug, Brad Marchand, Seth Griffith and finally David Krejci who missed on a must-make shot that ended the game.

The lineup was bizarre to say the least with a defensemen taking the second shot and a 50% career penalty shot shooter in Patrice Bergeron never taking the ice. Of a fundamentally talented Bruins attack, Claude Julian selected a group of five players with a career penalty shot conversion percentage of 19%. Furthermore, he did so against a Toronto shootout attack that came in with some of the best numbers in the league.

Boston was swiftly embarrassed by Maple Leaf shooters who entered with a shootout conversion percentage of 39% and nailed two of five shots on Rask.

So what is the problem? How can this be fixed?

Well, not too long ago mind you, the Bruins were, hands down, the best team in hockey in terms of winning shootouts.

Two seasons ago, in the season of their dominant run to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, the Bruins reaped the benefits of a near immaculate winning percentage in shootout games. That sterling reputation was the direct byproduct of their lights out shooting lineup.

Each time the shootout was needed, in almost painful repetition, the Bruins would send Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Davis Krejci to the puck.

Those players would constantly score on 40-50% of shots. They legitimately capped off hours of play with three minutes bearing three darting goals from the top of the opponents crease.

Things changed though after Seguin left Boston following the season. The Bruins started sending Marchand out in the top three and testing Loui Eriksson in the number two slot. They dropped Krejci out of the traditional shooting lineup and over time even let Bergeron fade.

And what for; so that they could let Seth Griffith shoot, so they could let a lucky Tory Krug pound a shot off Johnathan Bernier’s pad?

The Bruins need to rework their shootout approach. Bergeron needs to get back into the mix and we need to see somebody come through as a prime shooter for the team. 

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Seth Griffith excels as Bruins snap two game skid: Bruins top Hurricanes 2-1

November 15th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

After a disastrous two game Canadian road trip in which the Bruins were outscored 11-2, the team came home to Boston with a sense of urgency. In their matinee game Saturday, the Bruins made good on their urgency, beating the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 2-1.

The Bruins had fallen from grace this week after their five game win streak was snapped and soured by 6-1 and 5-1 losses to the Maple Leafs and Canadians respectively. They played soft making mistakes by the dozen and watching as their goalie, Tuukka Rask uncharacteristically fell apart vs the Maple Leafs.  

They understood the mistakes they made in those games and came home with a brand new will to win.

"I think it's probably the most important part of going into today's game, was upping our competitive level, emotional level and physical play," said Bruins winger Milan Lucic.

Coach Claude Jullian eluded to a subliminal reigniting of the competitive flame after those losses.

"What you've gone through the last two games, I don't think you're automatically going to turn the page. We've got to build ourselves back up there, and today was a good start."

Yet with all their preparations, things seemed to get off on the wrong foot for the Bruins. They were outshot for most of the first period and eventually fell behind when Juri Tlusty banked in his 7^th goal of the year.

"We started on time for sure. But for whatever reason, we didn't have 60,"said Carolina head coach Bill Peters.

As he suggested, the Bruins turned things around soon after the Tlusty goal. They killed a near two minute 5 on 3 man advantage for the Hurricanes that started mere seconds after the goal.

"That always comes back to haunt you. It gives you momentum if you can kill it, and it hurts you a little bit mentally if you don't score," Peters said of his team’s losing momentum from the 5-3 failure. "It would have been nice to get one."

Eight minutes after the 5 on 3, a strong hustle play by Bruin rookie forward Seth Griffith combined with a weak pass in front of the net by Andrej Sekera led to an awkward goal for the Bruins that tied the game at one. The goal was Griffith’s fourth of the season and signified yet another moment where a younger Bruin stepped up to make a huge play for the team

“These games are about the veterans leading the way,” said Bruin center Patrice Bergeron. “But with all the injuries, the young guys have to seize the moment and come up huge; and that’s what they did today.”

Bergeron himself scored with 49 seconds left in the first period giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

From there the team managed to hold down the fort. Rask made 33 saves and the Bruins hit hard and often to keep the Hurricanes out of the zone for much of the second and third periods.

 All and all Saturday was a much better effort for the Bruins as it also featured the 60 minute consistency that was lacking on their recent road trip.

“It was good,” Bergeron said. “Everything was a step in the right direction. The second was one of them as well. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better. It’s definitely something we can build from and keep working on, but that being said, we’ve been able to keep the lead and that’s something that you can definitely build from.”

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Seth Griffith goal big step down the long road to good team chemestry

October 22nd, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

Midway through the 3^rd period of Tuesday night’s Bruins and Sharks game, rookie winger Seth Griffith charged in between the hash marks towards a large crowd of opponents and teammates. As the puck eventually trickled out of said crowd, Griffith swooped in to launch an off balance wrist shot on net. Sharks goalie Antti Niemi was already down on the ice at the time of the shot and could not get up in time to put a glove on the puck. As a result, Griffith scored.

The goal, scored just a few seconds after the five minute mark of the third period, was the first in a very young career for Griffith. His elated yell and open armed call of attention signified the importance of the moment.

“It was great,” Griffith said after the game. “I’ve had a couple of chances the past few games, so it’s great to get the first one out of the way.”

But beyond giving him a personal milestone, Griffith’s goal represented a much better effort by his entire line.

Since the departure of Jarome Iginla last season, the Bruins first line including David Krejci and Milan Lucic has lacked internal trust. There was loud talk this offseason about who would replace Iginla on Boston’s most crucial line and for a long time the answer was not known. Furthermore, even when it was, Bruins fans did not like it very much.

Nevertheless, due to a decent preseason, Seth Griffith ended up partnered with Lucic and Krejci on opening night. Bruins fans hoped that he could somehow bring that line together.

Though Tuesday showed that that did eventually happen, it has taken longer than expected.

But who is to complain?

“We’re starting to get a little chemistry going, so it’s good to see,” Griffith said of his line mates. “But it’s not too hard playing with two great players like that.”

The Bruins first line starters are good players but they are also at times painstakingly inconsistent. After failing to contribute earlier this month, Lucic broke out on Tuesday assisting on three of Boston’s five goals. Furthermore, Krejci who took some time to get his timing back after a shoulder injury in preseason, stretched his point streak into its 4^thgame with an assist and a goal.

Speaking to reporters about Griffith’s confidence in particular, Lucic talked about the joy and confidence getting a first goal gives a player.

“When you get that first one, the confidence starts coming and you can start feeling a little bit more loose. When you’re in those positions, they seem to go in once you get that first one. He’s done a good job so far playing on our line and hopefully he can pop in a few more if he gets a few more chances,” he said.

As the Bruins top line has since became more of a unified group, Lucic’s statement about confidence could be said not only for Griffith but for the entire line. Griffith getting his goal makes his achievements in the NHL more real and in a way it makes him seem like more of a solid player.

As Griffith’s reputation improves his teammates’ trust in him improves and thus the team’s communication follows suit. As the unit communicates more, passes are made. As passes are made, shots are taken; and as the entire first line begins firing off shots, an all-star attack in born.

Such is the evolution of this thing we refer to in sports as “team chemistry.” Team chemistry is something the Bruins have worked to foster for much of the past decade.  However, team chemistry is no easy thing to build. Though its process can be summarized in a few sentences, it takes hours of ice time to learn another player’s habits with and without the puck. In all truth, it is the willingness to spend that time that separates the good lines from the bad lines and by extension, the good teams from the bad teams.

The Bruins are a good team and that comes as a direct result of the emphasis they put on their players playing as a team.

We have seen that emphasis come through time and time again in the historic saga of trust building that Claude Julian has brought to this team. This recent evolution of trust between Griffith, Lucic and Krejci is only the newest example of that in action. 

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