The biggest question going into this season circled around whether or not the Boston Bruins defense was experienced enough to handle the responsibilities appointed to them. For the most part of the season, the answer would be a resounding no, but, recently, the Bruins defensive group have shown great signs of structure and depth.
Puck Prose
Having a solid defense has a lot to do with how a team’s most valuable defenseman is playing and, for Boston, their best defenseman is playing very well, as usual. “It’s a great win.” Captain Zdeno Chara said of their most recent victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. “It’s a good feeling, especially when you win the way we did, playing strong for sixty and staying patient and waiting for our chances.”
When the score is close for the majority of the game, like is was against the Maple Leafs, there is an even greater need for the Bruins’ defense to limit their mistakes and make the right decisions when they have the puck. The structure seems to be working when the Bruins do not have the puck and the penalty kill is even improving. However, offensive opportunities that involve a defenseman have often led to scoring chances for the other team.
Nov 14, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug (47) skates with the puck during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
“Today the chances we gave up were in the offensive zone or the neutral zone and they came at us with the rush, but I think our defensive game was solid today,” said goaltender Tuukka Rask of the performance of his defensive teammates. “We stuck with it even though it was a tight game and got rewarded, so it was a great character win.”
With so many injuries within the Bruins lineup, many of the young defenseman have been able to get a good taste of what is expected of them when playing for the big club. “It’s good for experience, being in those 0-0 games in the third period, being able to hang in there and stick to our game plan, being patient and finally get the late goal.” said Zach Trotman, who assisted on Zdeno Chara’s game winning goal against Toronto. “I think that’s big for our confidence knowing that we can hang onto games like that.”
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It seems that Claude Julien is set on keeping eight defenseman (Chara, Trotman, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, Colin Miller, Dennis Seidenberg and Joe Morrow) up in Boston which has worked out well so far this year. Knowing that the team can rely on two healthy scratches to fill in for a defenseman that had a rough night or is battling an injury is a huge weight off of the shoulders of every defenseman, forward and goaltender in that dressing room. It’s that full team effort that is going to keep the Boston Bruins in the playoff race this season.
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