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Boston Bruins: B’s blueliners need to be ready Opening Night

By Andrew Thompson

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Sep 30, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman

Matt Bartkowski

(43) is congratulated by defenseman

Adam McQuaid

(54) and center

Patrice Bergeron

(37) after scoring against the New York Islanders during the third period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday night is opening night for the Boston Bruins and their 2014-15 season. The organization is gearing up for yet another deep run in the playoffs, and this time they’ll be doing it without Johnny Boychuk. His trade has certainly shaken things up on the Black and Gold blueline(not to mention the fan base).

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As rough as the shake up is for all of us, the Bruins are still a team that can make a deep run through the playoffs (or just win the whole thing like 2011). The Bruins still have two solid veteran defensemen on the roster. Zdeno Chara is still regarded as one of the best Bruins bluliners since Bobby Orr. But it’s clear he’s slowing down. Dennis Seidenberg, as long as he stays healthy will be picking up some of the minutes from the Bruins captain.

The remainder of the Bruins d-men will be needing to do the same. On the positive side of things, Dougie Hamilton has shown serious improvement during the last two seasons, and is shaping up to be the future of the Bruins blue line. A healthy Adam McQuaid has shown that he’s ready to start the season with the same drive and anger that he’s had for the last few seasons. Torey Krug has shaken off most of the rust and should be ready to take on the Flyers.

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    • There are a few concerns though.  Matt Bartkowski has once again dodged a big trade bullet, and he’ll need to play like he’s capable of. Joe Haggerty stated that Bartkowski was still “fighting himself” in his last performance, and it sound pretty accurate.  He’ll likely be second pair with Seidenberg, and he’ll need to soak up the extra minutes and do it well. Kevan Miller will certainly be able to pick up the physical side of Boychuk’s game, but he won’t be bringing shots from center ice and the hash marks.

    The B’s will be counting on more production to make up for the loss of Boychuk and the reduced minutes of Chara. Wednesday night will be a good weather gauge on what the Bruins can do and what they may need going forward in the season.

    This is what the Bruins opening night roster will likely look like on defense.

    Zdeno Chara  –  Dougie Hamilton

    Dennis Seidenberg  –  Matt Bartkowski/ Adam McQuaid

    Torey Krug  –  Kevan Miller

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