The Boston Bruins took Game 1 to a second overtime period before finally emerging victors 4-3; despite this certain players’ ice-time stood out.
Tuukka Rask, as should be expected, saw the most ice-time for the Boston Bruins at 80:52, which gives us a guide to the maximum ice-time we should’ve expected from any player.
Out of the skaters, Charlie McAvoy pulled vintage Chara numbers, playing 33:45, while the aforementioned only saw 25:30, a reflection on the toll it takes on a 43 year-old body.
There were however three Boston Bruins skaters that saw 13 minutes or less. In a game where McAvoy is playing 33 minutes, that’s rather questionable usage. Those three players need to up their game to win over Bruce Cassidy’s good favor:
Anders Bjork
For a player that shone in the training camp, you’d have been rightfully disappointed to see him only out on the ice for 11 minutes. Just as it felt like Anders Bjork had won over the Boston Bruins’ coach, he ends up on the bench for most of the first game of the playoffs.
Nick Ritchie
Much like Bjork, Nick Ritchie had shown signs of improvement and would’ve hoped to see more than 12:50 ice-time. When you look at both Bjork and Ritchie’s center Charlie Coyle, you really start wondering what these two have done so wrong.
Coyle of course sees short-handed and power-play time, but that extra 5 minutes still would’ve put him 3 or 4 minutes ahead of his line-mates.
Jeremy Lauzon
When it comes to Jeremy Lauzon, you almost wonder what the point is of suiting up a sixth defenseman. Every defenseman except Lauzon saw more than 25 minutes, whilst the youngster is stuck seeing just 13:08.
Given this was Game 1 of the first round, you’d have thought the Boston Bruins’ coach might’ve been a little more liberal with his ice-times. For a youngster like Lauzon, it’s vital he gets a proper taste of the playoff experience early on.
All in all, it’s a little disappointing to see guys overlooked like this, especially in a game that went to a second overtime period.
But at the end of the day, coach knows best and we came away with the win, so we probably shouldn’t complain.