Boston Bruins: The depleted Calgary Flames defense has to be targeted

The Boston Bruins have to make the most of a depleted Calgary Flames blue-line in their match-up tonight.

Whether that means making it a physical contest and bearing down and battling for every puck or whether that simply means putting on a show and racking up the points tally, I’m not sure, but either option would likely work for the Boston Bruins.

Calgary are currently missing team captain and Norris Trophy winner, Mark Giordano as well as Travis Hamonic and this should open up their defense for the likes of David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand to go to work.

Rasmus Andersson and Michael Stone are presently being used on the first and second defensive pairings respectively; not exactly the best spot for either of them. Stone is more accustomed to a third pairing role, while Andersson is still quite young and learning how to play top lines.

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That is where the Boston Bruins can take the advantage; our top line is arguably the best in the entire league and a young defensemen is the perfect player to single out; shake his confidence early and it should be a forgone conclusion.

This is a team that has conceded 19 goals in their last 5 games; 12 of those coming in their last two match-ups. When the lowly Anaheim Ducks can put four past you, it’s a bit of a concern.

Beyond the defense, the Calgary Flames do have some strength and size in their bottom-six and these guys will likely step up and drop the gloves if we take too many liberties; in that regard, we need to balance the skill game with a smart physical game.

We don’t need to have Milan Lucic squaring off against anyone; though it’d certainly be a spectacle if Zdeno Chara were to step up and answer the call, if it does end up getting out of hand on the night.

The Flames are fighting to maintain their spot as a play-off contender in the West and aren’t going to roll over easy, so this game isn’t going to be without fight from them. However, the Boston Bruins should prove too strong, especially given the state of the Flames defense presently.

Perhaps tonight is the night that we get our secondary scoring beyond just Charlie Coyle, rolling!