As the Bruins steamrolled their way toward the playoffs, winning their last eight games on the record-breaking run, it was anyone’s guess what to expect from Taylor Hall come playoff time.
After suffering a lower body injury in Vancouver on Feb. 25, he missed most of the rest of the regular season, returning to play just three of the last four games. He went scoreless in all of them and, even before his injury, he’d had an inconsistent season from a production standpoint.
But in this playoff series against the Florida Panthers, Hall has shown some of the flashes that made him a Hart Trophy winner five years ago when he was with the New Jersey Devils. Hall leads the B’s in scoring with 4-3-7 totals in the four games, including his 2-2-4 afternoon on Sunday.
It was in Game 1, in which he actually did not get on the scoresheet, that Hall showed he was ready to contribute. He twice made strong defensive plays that he immediately turned into 2-on-1s with his speed.
“Taylor’s played really well and taken advantage of some situational offensive opportunities and finished. He feels good about his game,” said GM Don Sweeney, who met with reporters on Monday on the team’s day off. “What was really good to see was that in Game 1, he really played with a lot of detail, he played hard. He played the three (regular season) games coming back from a serious injury and out a long time. But he spoke about getting back to those details. And now it’s translating into the offensive part of the game that we all know he’s capable of providing. And our hockey club needs it. Every team needs balanced scoring for the playoffs, because the top guys get keyed on and everybody else needs to chip in. He’s done a very good job at that.”
Hall earned more icetime in the third period of Game 4 when coach Jim Montgomery bumped him up to play with Pavel Zacha and Jake DeBrusk. And with the B’s hanging on to a one-goal lead, Hall created a turnover just outside the Panthers’ blue line that resulted in DeBrusk’s insurance goal. Hall later put the game out of reach on a breakaway when he deked Sergei Bobrovsky badly on a backhand-to-forehand move.
DeBrusk grew up in Edmonton when Hall first came into the league with the Oilers. Their combined speed on the wings when they play together can pose big problems for teams.
“It’s one of those things where he reads plays very well coming through the neutral zone. There were a couple of plays in the last games where he can make it in high distress. It’s nice to see him get rewarded. He’s been working hard and going to the hard areas,” said DeBrusk. “We need everyone at this time of year and it was good see. You could see his confidence on that breakaway goal. It’s a little thing, but it kind of put the nail in the coffin. It’s good to see him get rewarded. I used to watch him growing up. I remember the first time (seeing him) at development camp, actually, so it’s cool to see him evolve.” …
Sweeney said that Patrice Bergeron will practice with the team on Tuesday. It will mark the first time he’s taken part in an actual team practice since leaving Game 82 in Montreal with an upper body injury.
“We’ll gauge his progression and go from there. He’s day to day and we’ll see how he is when he integrates with other guys on the ice instead of just himself,” said Sweeney.
Sweeney said that David Krejci, who has missed the last two games with what’s believed to be an arm or elbow injury, was most likely not going to practice. Sweeney said that Krejci was being further evaluated on Monday and there could be some kind of update coming soon.
Meanwhile, his good friend and linemate, David Pastrnak, is looking to make a bigger impact without his centerman. He’s got two goals in the four games. The second part of the equation in Montgomery’s third period line changes was to put Pastrnak with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle to help him fight through the matchup that the Panthers wanted to get against him.
“And David needs to adjust, if that’s the case. Sometimes it’s simplification,” said Sweeney. “Brad has been a really good example of that, accepting the matchup even without what would be his normal center, and doing a really good job. It’s really incumbent upon the entire lineup to recognize who you’re playing against each and every night, because the margins are small.” …
The NHL fined Matthew Tkachuk $5,000 for his after-the-horn cross check from behind on Garnet Hathaway at the end of the first period on Sunday. Hathaway was briefly shaken up by the stick work, but he returned for the second period and wound up with a game-high eight hits.
Sweeney has liked the way his team has been able to manage Florida’s obvious attempts to get the B’s off their game with some extracurricular activity.
“Our guys have done a really good job of playing between the whistles. We’ve talked about it internally that we’ve felt Brad has done a really, really good job of taking a leadership role,” said Sweeney. “He’s been an important player for us on the ice and now obviously with Patrice and David leaving (the lineup), he’s assumed a lot of those responsibilities and done a heck of a job. And he’s got a lot of support behind it with Nick (Foligno) and even (Dmitry Orlov) , who’s won a Stanley Cup. We’ve got a lot of guys that are trying to do all the things on and off the ice that it takes each day. It’s a game by game thing and we’re trying to play to our standards and, as Jimmy talks about, get to our game.”