In a move that most Bruins fans have been calling for for a while now, it appears that coach Claude Julien has finally switched up his forward line combinations in an effort to spark his squad after dropping three of their last four games. The new trios were on display during practice at TD Garden today, with the most notable of the moves being Milan Lucic. The B’s struggling big man, who hasn’t scored in his last 15 games, now drops to the third line with Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron.
Most Bruins fans have probably become accustomed to their team taking points out of almost every game that they lead going into the third period, after posting an impressive 32-0-0 record when leading after two in 2011-12. Unfortunately, that streak has not carried over into 2013, and last night in Winnipeg was yet another example. The Jets rallied from a 1-0 third period deficit to score three unanswered goals in the final stanza at MTS Centre, including two goals within 57 seconds to quickly grab the lead. Former Bruin Blake Wheeler had two goals, and Ondrej Pavelec was sharp in goal for the Jets, who reclaimed the Southeast Division lead with the victory. The Bruins meanwhile have now lost two games in a row in regulation for the first time this season, slipping to a mediocre 5-4-1 in their last ten games.
Along with another loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday, Bruins fans had to deal with the possibility of being without center David Krejci for an extended period after he took a Johnny Boychuk slap shot to the top of the knee in the closing minutes of the game. Krejci would not return, and though he was seen walking afterwards and also traveled with the team to Winnipeg, there was no official word on his condition (you’ll remember Chris Kelly also traveled with the team to their next game before it was announced he had a broken tibia).
Luckily, coach Claude Julien had an update today, and it was relatively positive. ”He came in for treatment and he’s day-to-day. There’s no broken bones, the damage is from the shot, as you know. But, again, he’s getting treatment and we’re hoping he’ll be back soon. It’s nothing serious to the point where we’re talking about weeks.”
Julien added that they’ll check in again with him tomorrow and take it from there. Krejci didn’t skate today and likely will not play when the Bruins take on the Jets tomorrow night at the MTS IcePlex in Winnipeg. Many of the Bruins were already talking today about needing to step up in Krejci’s and Kelly’s absence, which will be important as the Jets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have worked their way to the top of the Southeast Division.
The Bruins announced today that forward Ryan Spooner has been recalled from Providence on an emergency basis, likely meaning there is a good possibility that either Brad Marchand or David Krejci may not play against the Canadiens on Wednesday. Marchand crashed heavily into the end boards after a scoring chance against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, and did not return for the third period.
It’s been a little quiet around here lately, mostly because there hasn’t been much going on in the hockey world, and also because blogging about a bunch of billion- and millionaires fighting amongst each other didn’t really seem worth it in light of the other events of the past week.
But in an effort to get caught up, here goes…
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