When you lose like the Bruins lost in their season-opener in Florida on Tuesday, there are bound to be some lineup changes.
And while coach Jim Montgomery wasn’t ready to call out any of his players, he did make some personnel switches. On the defense, out came Mason Lohrei, who was minus-3 in the opener, and in went Parker Wotherspoon while Nikita Zadorov bumped up to play with Charlie McAvoy on the top pairing. Up front, Max Jones came out and 6-foot-6 Riley Tufte was making his Bruin debut on the third line with Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau. And after Joonas Korpisalo gave up six goals in the Sunrise barrage, Jeremy Swayman was making his debut as the B’s new $66 million man.
“It’s early in the year. We want to get people in the lineup,” said Montgomery, speaking of the two skaters who were going in. “We want to get people acclimated to game speed. The guys that are coming out, it’s not a reflection. The whole team was porous last game. It’s just an opportunity to get two guys in.”
It’s anyone’s guess if Swayman’s return was accelerated because of the dirty half dozen goals that were allowed on Tuesday, but it is a quick turnaround for Swayman after he missed the entire training camp during the contract squabble. He had stayed fit by working out at Boston University but you can only see NHL shots at NHL practices.
“He’s a competitor. I never worry about that stuff,” said Hampus Lindholm. “I worry more about what I’m going to do in front of him and that’s what I think the rest of us should do, too, and he’ll take care of his (job).”
Swayman brings a certain swagger to the proceedings.
“Sway, I love his confidence around the team.,” said Lindholm. “He’s a guy who I’ve played with for a few years and one of those guys who knows the culture around the team. We have a lot of belief in him and I think he has a lot of belief in us. It’s going to be fun playing in front of him.”
Beyond the money, Swayman is embarking on the next phase of his career as a true No. 1 goalie. The most games he played in a season was 44, which came last year. With former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark now Ottawa, the Bruins’ net is now Swayman’s on most nights.
What number of games he lands will be determined, but 55 is the working figure.
“I think 55 is a good number to start the season at and then as the season goes, depending on the development of the team, (that will dictate whether) we’re going to be on moving that number up or down,” said Montgomery….
With Lohrei out, Hampus Lindholm was set to take over the second power-play unit. Montgomery was expecting a no-frills approach.
“What I like about Hampus is he’s direct. He’s looking to create his shot and he’s looking to let our net-front guy and our bumper win 2-on-1 battles in front of the net,” said Montgomery.
Said Lindholm: “We’ve got some good sticks and big bodies in there and you just want to put yourself in a good spot to either shoot or make a danger pass.”
The lone bright spot for the B’s from the season opener was the penalty kill. Lindholm led the way with 7:51 of icetime on the PK
“I’ve always been like that Swiss Army knife like that,” said Lindolm. “You put me in and I’ll do my best to help the team win hockey games. We’ve been doing some good things on the PK and we’re obviously going to take that with us. But it’s a full game of hockey out there, 5-on-5, power play and PK. We want to put together a full game.”…
Partly because Jones missed most of training camp with a groin injury, the bottom six had been a work in progress all camp and it remains so. The hope was that Tufte and his 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame would help create an identity for the line with the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Brazeau and the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Frederic.
“Being on a line with Frederic and Brazeau with that size, being able to overwhelm people down low with their possession and supporting each other,” said Montgomery for his hopes of the line. “And he has the ability to make plays. He scored (23) goals in the American league and he did a really good job in (five) games with Colorado. So playing to his strengths – getting on top of people, being heavy, being hard – are things that should lend him to have success with that line.”
The 26-year-old Tufte was the Dallas Stars first round pick (25th overall) in the 2016 draft but he’s yet to stick in the NHL. He had a goal and an assist in five games with the Avalanche but that wasn’t enough for him stay up. Tufte had a decent camp and he remains with the big club, at least until Matt Poitras can return and they’re able to sign Tyler Johnson.
“I just want to keep my feet moving. I think I’m noticeable out there protecting the puck. There are some things I can build on, too,” said Tufte….
Poitras participated fully in practice for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury at the end of the camp.