When you think of a Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy defense pairing, the word “shutdown” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
Our brains have been trained through years of hockey-think to associate “shutdown defenseman” or “shutdown pairing” with big, bruising defense-first players who battle in the corner and block shots and strong-arm opposing forwards away from the front of the net.
McAvoy can certainly do all those things, but he and Grzelcyk together would never be mistaken for that kind of pair.
If you define “shutdown” as “not allowing goals and chances,” though, then you would be hard-pressed to find a more shutdown pairing than Grzelcyk-McAvoy.
Of 139 pairings across the NHL that have played at least 100 minutes together at five-on-five this season, the Bruins’ BU Two have given up the fewest shots on goal against per 60 minutes (15.08) and the second-fewest goals against per 60 (0.45). In the latter, they trail only Colorado’s pairing of Samuel Girard and Jacob MacDonald.
It’s easy to figure out why the Bruins are giving up so few scoring chances with Grzelcyk and McAvoy on the ice -- they always have the puck at the other end of the ice. It’s why a couple weeks ago McAvoy casually but confidently asserted that they don’t actually play a lot of defense when they’re together.
“Well it’s a lot of fun, for starters,” McAvoy said of playing with Grzelcyk, whom he was also paired with when they were at Boston University together. “We obviously have the chemistry there from before, from college, and what we’ve built on and off the ice together since we first met. It’s a lot of fun playing with him. He’s an exceptional puck-mover, really just an outstanding player.
“We don’t play a lot of defense when we’re together, not because we don’t take pride in that side, but because we’re usually head-manning the puck well, getting into the offensive zone, and able to kind of play that side, which is where we want to produce and help the team in that way.”
McAvoy and Grzelcyk are both great on puck retrievals in the defensive zone. They’re both great on breakouts and in transition, too. Both are effective puck-movers in the offensive zone.
If there was one area where both were looking to improve this season, it was in turning their skill into more offensive production in terms of points. Both are starting to do that. McAvoy now has 20 points in 30 games, while Grzelcyk -- who battled multiple injuries earlier this season -- has 10 in 17, including seven in 11 games since his return to the lineup.
Both played a big role offensively in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Sabres. Grzelcyk scored the Bruins’ first goal with some good lateral movement across the blue line before finding a shooting lane and wristing a shot through a Charlie Coyle screen and in. McAvoy set up the tying goal with a NASCAR-like two laps around the offensive zone before throwing a puck to the net that Nick Ritchie was able to bury.
“It’s both ways offensively -- it’s down the wall and it’s across the blue line,” coach Bruce Cassidy said of his top pairing’s play. “And then obviously your skill has to take over. That’s what I like about them, they give the forwards some pucks in good spots. Try to match them up as much as possible with a good offensive line and see where it takes us, and it’s usually to good places.”
In past seasons, Cassidy has moved Grzelcyk up with McAvoy in certain offensive situations or when the Bruins were trailing and needed offense. He didn’t have them together to start this season, opting instead for more of a “one good puck-mover on each pair” approach.
With so many injuries on defense, though, Cassidy elected to put them together when Grzelcyk returned from injury, loading up his top pairing to make sure he had one surefire elite duo in the same way Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak provide a sure thing up front (and the five of them often play together to provide a super-sure five-man unit).
It remains to be seen if Cassidy will keep them together long-term or split them up to balance out the top two pairs at some point, but when the results are as good as they’ve been -- not just in those offensive situations of past years, but at all times and in all situations -- splitting them up might be hard to justify.