Why Johnny Beecher might be needed for Bruins’ playoff push
"Everybody knows what I have to do to help the team win."
The numbers game hasn’t exactly been kind to Johnny Beecher in the NHL ranks.
The rookie’s arrival in hockey’s top league wasn’t ushered in with a soft landing, not with taxing D-zone minutes needing to be accounted for on Boston’s fourth line.
After a half-season spent killing penalties and slowing down top-six matchups, Beecher found himself on the outside looking in at Boston’s roster — with his waivers-exempt status, Boston’s cap crunch, and an influx of healthy bodies prompting an assignment to Providence on Jan. 20.
Considering Beecher’s encouraging returns amid a daunting baptism by fire on Boston’s checking unit, a return to the AHL was initially a tough pill to swallow.
But after seven weeks in Providence, the fleet-footed skater is eager for another shot to prove his worth.
“It’s kind of just part of the business, unfortunately,” Beecher, 22, said Wednesday of his demotion in January. “Nobody wants to leave their teammates and their team that they’re with the whole first half of the year, but I think a lot of good can come out of it. … I was kind of able to kind of get back to my game.
“Get some more confidence going, getting in a little bit better shape, playing more minutes, more opportunity. So I’m excited to be back up here. I don’t know many details. But obviously, it’s just great to be back in the room with the guys and hopefully get another crack at the lineup.”
Beecher was recalled on an emergency basis Wednesday, serving as added insurance before the Bruins made the trek up to Montreal for a Thursday-night tilt with the Habs.
His return to the lineup at Bell Centre might hinge on whether or not James van Riemsdyk is cleared for game action after missing Wednesday’s practice due to illness.
While Beecher managed to carve out more minutes during his 17-game stint with Providence (four goals, eight points), his value with Boston revolves around those unenviable D-zone assignments.
Despite having just 12.1% of his on-ice starts at 5-on-5 play begin in the offensive zone this season, the Bruins have only been outscored, 13-11, during Beecher’s 322:16 of 5-on-5 ice time this season.
Beecher fits the profile of a fourth-line stalwart with his 6-foot-3, 216-pound frame. But his 0-to-60 acceleration makes him a useful asset in Jim Montgomery’s forward corps — capable of landing welts and sowing anxiety on the forecheck, while also intercepting passes and generating counter-rushes during PK shifts.
Even though his offensive production waned (one goal, two points in last 18 games) before his demotion, Beecher’s presence has been missed in one critical area of the game: face-offs.
After ranking second in the NHL in faceoff percentage last season at 54.5%, Boston ranks 20th in that same department this year at 49.1%. The Bruins have lost the fourth-most defensive-zone faceoffs this year at 720.
Beecher (53.9% faceoff percentage) ranks second on the Bruins behind only Pavel Zacha (54.2%) and stands as a major upgrade over a bottom-six grouping that has underwhelmed at the dot — headlined by current fourth-line pivot Jesper Boqvist (37.3%) and Morgan Geekie (42.8%).
“Everybody knows what I have to do to help the team win and help the team in a playoff push. And I’m well aware of that as well,” Beecher said. “I think I was just working on bringing that each and every night.”
Peeke ready for Bruins debut in Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens might be mired near the bottom of the NHL standings with a 25-30-10 record, but Martin St. Louis’ team rarely lets opponents leave Bell Centre without a hefty supply of ice bags.
Montreal currently ranks eighth in penalty minutes per game (10.3), with pugnacious winger Michael Pezzetta now 13th in the league in hits with 188 over just 46 games played.
Considering the matchup, Montgomery plans to add some snarl to Boston’s blueline in Andrew Peeke, who will make his Bruins debut Thursday. Peeke, who was acquired in a deal with Columbus on Friday, skated with Parker Wotherspoon on the team’s third D pairing during Wednesday’s practice.
“I’ve watched those for a long time now,” Peeke said of bouts between Boston and Montreal. “No matter who is playing at Bell Centre, it’s a pretty special place. But playing for the Bruins against them is going to juice it up a little bit more.”
Wait and see
Another Bruins deadline pickup in Pat Maroon might be over five weeks removed from back surgery, but the Bruins are still taking it slow and steady with the bruising winger.
Maroon noted on Saturday that he was “skating a little bit” at this stage in his recovery, but Montgomery added Wednesday that the 35-year-old veteran hasn’t touched the frozen sheet at Warrior Ice Arena yet.
“He’s not even skating yet…. If we’re not doing it, it’s because (team rehab manager) Scotty Waugh and the professionals that we have think the best thing is to gradually bring him back onto the ice,” Montgomery noted
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Even though van Riemsdyk didn’t practice on Wednesday due to illness, he will travel with the team to Montreal. Matt Grzelcyk — also sidelined on Wednesday with an illness — did not travel.
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