Bruins swap in Tommy Wingels for Tim Schaller to beef up fourth line
"I think it’s on us players to reestablish our game."
Hoping for improved energy at left wing, and increased grind from his bottom-six forwards, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy swapped in Tommy Wingels for Tim Schaller on his fourth line Wednesday for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series vs. Tampa Bay.
Schaller, with only two assists in the first nine postseason games, was a critical element all season on the club’s Trench Connection Line with Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari. But after slow starts in Games 1 and 2 in Tampa, Cassidy felt more pep was needed, specifically on Line 4. The trio combined for only four of the club’s 44 shots in the first two games. When they’re going well, they are not only a menace on the forecheck, but successful in using their hustle to create scoring chances.
“Timmy’s played well for us, and so has Tommy,’’ explained Cassidy. “At the end of the day, Tommy’s got some experience, he provides physicality. I think we were a little short on that up there. Bit of a gut to make sure we’re not comfortable and we have the urgency required. I think we lacked some of that at times. We need to bring it.’’
Wingels, acquired from Chicago at the February trade deadline, said he wanted to help the club reestablish its home game.
“I think [being] stronger on pucks, more physical,’’ he said. “I think momentum in this series is tough, one game to the next. So I think it’s on us players to reestablish our game. We’ve got to be hard. We’ve got to be physical, set pace of the game and defend well.’’
Schaller, 6 feet 2 inches and 210 pounds, delivered a career season (12-10—22) as a dogged energy forward. It would not be unusual for Cassidy to bring him back for Game 4 — regardless of the Game 3 outcome — in hopes that a one-game respite prods Schaller to return in full crash-and-bang form.
“Our process and how we’ve done things means we don’t want to be any different than we’ve been all year,’’ said Kuraly, the pivot on the line. “Tommy’s been in the playoffs the last three years, and he’s been here before and played a lot of games. We are going to try to do what we’ve been doing, but obviously be better than we were the last game.’’
Energy from the fourth line can be one way to avoid the kind of slow starts the Bruins delivered in both games in Tampa. The Lightning put up the first 10 shots in Game 2, and took a 1-0 lead, not allowing the Bruins their first attempt on goalie Andrei Vasilevsky until 14:02.
“That’s something we think we want to be able to change as our line,’’ said Kuraly. “If it’s not going our way, push back, and that’s our responsibility.’’
Leg it out
The Lightning turned the puck over only 13 times in the first two games, while the Bruins were guilty of 23 giveaways. Evidence, by Cassidy’s eye, that his charges need to “check more with their legs.’’
“A little more puck-pursuit-oriented,’’ he said. “Forecheck, neutral zone, we’ve got to use our legs more. I don’t think we did nearly enough [in Tampa].
“We finally got going at the end of the first period. You could see the game shift from their favor in the first 10 minutes, and then it went our way. I think we just started skating more and putting more stress on them.’’
After watching the Lightning land the game’s first 10 shots on net in the first period, the Bruins basically traded shot for shot the rest of the night, Tampa finishing with a 31-20 advantage.
Four scorers
As of Wednesday, the Bruins had four players among the league’s top 10 postseason scorers.
David Pastrnak (5-13—18) trailed only Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel (8-11—19) for the No. 1 spot.
The rest:
No. 4 — Brad Marchand (4-11—15).
No. T6 — Patrice Bergeron (3-9—12).
No. T10 — Torey Krug (3-7—10).
Official business
Spotted checking in Wednesday morning at the Bruins’ practice facility in Brighton: Rob Shick, the NHL’s supervisor of officials for this series.
Shick was on the premises to meet with general manager Don Sweeney, who no doubt used the opportunity to voice his displeasure with some of the calls in the first two games. The worst of the bunch came at the end of Game 2 when Tampa defenseman Anton Stralman disrupted a Marchand breakaway with a hack to the hands.
The hack — which Marchand felt was worthy of a penalty shot — went without a whistle from referees Kelly Sutherland and Eric Furlatt. Had Marchand scored, it would have pulled the Bruins into a 3-3 tie. A couple of minutes later, Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point knocked home an empty-netter for the 4-2 final.
