Bruins’ depth shines in gutsy Game 3 win without Bergeron and Krejci originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
For most NHL teams, losing your top two centers, including your captain, for a pivotal Game 3 on the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be a recipe for disaster.
But the 2022-23 Boston Bruins are not like most teams.
The B’s knew they were going to be without captain and No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron for the third straight game Friday night. And then second-line center David Krejci was a late scratch just before puck drop despite taking part in the morning skate and pregame warmup.
Jim Montgomery gives new update on David Krejci’s status for Game 4
It was a tough blow for the Bruins, especially when you consider how badly their centers were outplayed in the Panthers’ Game 2 win on Wednesday night. But the Bruins stepped up as a team, and their incredible depth shined in a 4-2 victory in Game 3 that gave Boston a 2-1 series lead and the home ice advantage.
“We’re built for the long haul,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said in his postgame press conference. “Yeah, we’d love to have Bergy, but injuries are going to happen. We believe that we have the depth to overcome numerous injuries. I think the effort tonight is a good example, and it should give everybody confidence, because I thought everybody contributed to our victory today.”
Depth has been a major strength for Boston all season, and it showed Friday night.
The Bruins had four different goal scorers. Eight different players tallied at least one point. Five different players had three or more shots on net. Four players blocked two or more shots. Ten players dished out two or more hits.
One of the best examples of the Bruins’ extraordinary depth was the performance of Charlie Coyle.
He played in Bergeron’s spot as the first-line center alongside Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, and the Weymouth, Mass., native dominated at both ends of the ice. Coyle got his first goal of the playoffs six minutes into the second period after deflecting a Marchand shot past Panthers goalie Alex Lyon. He won a hard-fought battle in front of the net against an elite two-way center in Aleksander Barkov to be in position to tip that shot. Coyle accounted for six of the Bruins’ 10 high-danger scoring chances during 5-on-5 action.
“He was a man possessed out there, the way he took pucks to the net,” Montgomery said of Coyle. “I loved him in the faceoff dot. I thought he controlled the middle of the ice and I thought at both goal lines he made really good plays. He ended plays in our zone and he made plays in their zone. That second goal, him being at the front of the net there, that’s a real good sign for us offensively and a real good sign for him that he’s in those areas. That’s where he scores.”
But it wasn’t just Coyle who stepped up.
Taylor Hall opened the scoring just 2:26 into the first period. He had a two-point night. Nick Foligno was originally going to be a healthy scratch but was in the lineup after Krejci’s late scratch. He scored Boston’s fourth goal and also had four shots and four hits. David Pastrnak scored his second goal of the series and led all Bruins with 12 shot attempts, seven shots on net and seven scoring chances. Dmitry Orlov picked up primary assists with two pinpoint long passes to set up Hall and Pastrnak’s goals. Charlie McAvoy set a physical tone throughout the game with a team-high eight hits, including a huge one on Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen during his first shift. Matt Grzelcyk was a healthy scratch the first two games, made his series debut Friday and played well.
“There were a lot of guys who had monster games tonight,” Coyle told reporters postgame, as seen on NESN. “It’s just huge. And it’s not just scoring or making huge plays, it’s just little things — buying time to break the puck out, blocking shots, getting the puck out when we’ve been out there for a little while. Guys knew the task at hand and followed through and did it. That’s a sign of a good team, just knowing what’s at stake in that moment and doing the job that needs to be done.”
Depth has been an Achilles’ heel for the Bruins in recent playoff runs, including last season when they relied way too much on their top-six forwards in a first-round defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney started bolstering his team’s depth last summer by acquiring Pavel Zacha via trade. He also added top-four defenseman Dmitry Orlov, top-six wing Tyler Bertuzzi and bottom-six wing Garnet Hathaway before the March 3 trade deadline.
These additions to the lineup, plus improved performances from guys like Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, Linus Ullmark and others, have resulted in a deep, ultra-talented Bruins roster with very few weaknesses.
Not many teams could withstand losing their top two centers and dominate an opponent as good as the Panthers on the road in a playoff game. But the Bruins are able to do that because of their depth, leadership and next-man-up mentality.
Friday night’s Game 3 easily could have been a nightmare for the Bruins. Instead, it became one of their gutsiest and most complete victories of the entire season.
