The question of who will be skating on the right side of the Bruins’ top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron has been answered, at least for the time being. According to Bruins Daily, Boston coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters in Seattle after Wednesday’s practice that it will be Jake DeBrusk in that spot for Thursday night’s game against the Kraken.
Marchand, whose six-game suspension is now over, actually missed practice due to a “personal family matter,” the team announced. He is expected to rejoin the team Thursday morning and play Thursday night, though. Cassidy clarified that it was a good personal family matter.
According to the lines tweeted out by the team, Bergeron was flanked by Jesper Froden on his left and DeBrusk on his right. Froden, who was recalled from AHL Providence for this road trip, was just a placeholder for Marchand, though.
Who plays with Marchand and Bergeron became a question during Marchand’s suspension when the new line of Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith kept stringing together strong shifts and strong games. Cassidy clearly liked what he saw, referring to them at points over the last week as “our best line” and “a really nice-looking third line.” On Monday, he tipped his hand a bit by saying he’d like to keep them together.
Sure enough, they remained together as the Bruins’ third line at Wednesday’s practice. Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak also stayed together on the second line, with Erik Haula sliding back in between them. That left first-line right wing to be filled in.
Smith had been playing regularly with Marchand and Bergeron prior to these past six games. While their underlying numbers were great (67.6% Corsi, 73.4% expected goals), it wasn’t translating to a whole lot of actual goals. If it had been, it would probably be harder to not just go back to that trio.
Besides Smith and Pastrnak, the only other right wing who had seen any time at all on Marchand and Bergeron’s right was Oskar Steen, who got a grand total of 11 minutes there last month. Steen hit a bit of a wall, though, and is now back in Providence.
DeBrusk makes a lot of sense to try there, but it’s a fascinating choice nonetheless. He is not a natural right wing and has struggled on his off side in the past. He has played almost entirely in the Bruins’ bottom six this season. Oh, and he publicly requested a trade three months ago.
DeBrusk was demoted to the fourth line last week amid a lengthy slump, but he responded well, scoring in each of the Bruins’ last two games. That likely made the decision to move him up to the first line easier.
DeBrusk isn’t a complete stranger to playing with Marchand and Bergeron, as he spent 44 minutes with them for a stretch last season. While the Bruins broke even in goals (2-2) during those minutes, they did out-attempt opponents 54-31 (63.5%) and outshoot them 27-13 (67.5%). If ever DeBrusk was going to find his groove on the right side, this would be the place to do it.
If things work out, this could be a win-win for everyone involved. It could give the Bruins an even more balanced lineup, and it could increase interest in DeBrusk and boost his trade value. While the latter is not the primary reason the Bruins are doing this, it wouldn’t be a bad side effect.
Cassidy told reporters Linus Ullmark would start in goal on Thursday, while Jeremy Swayman will start Saturday in San Jose. Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen did not travel with the team. He "didn't feel right" after warmups on Monday and recently returned from an upper-body injury he suffered last time the Bruins played Seattle, when Yanni Gourde drilled him from behind into the glass (and somehow avoided any supplemental discipline).
Here is the Bruins' expected lineup for Thursday:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall - Erik Haula - David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Curtis Lazar
Mike Reilly - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Connor Clifton
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
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