Franklin’s Michael Callahan is finding his footing on Bruins’ D corps
"It’s something I take a lot of pride in. And I know I can go out there and do the job.”
Michael Callahan’s stat line from Thursday’s win over Ottawa doesn’t necessarily leap off the page.
The 25-year-old defenseman — pressed into NHL service due to the absence of both Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy — logged 16:27 of ice time against the Senators while skating alongside Brandon Carlo.
Only Carlo and Andrew Peeke logged more reps on the penalty kill than Callahan (3:01), who also blocked two shots and doled out a hit in his second career game with the Bruins.
It was far from an eventful night for the Franklin native.
In other words? Exactly what interim head coach Joe Sacco was looking for from the young defenseman.
“Predictability,” Sacco said Friday of Callahan’s game against the Senators. “I think that he played a very reliable, responsible game for us, which is what we’re looking for.
“Good reads, smart plays, good decisions with the puck. Just a really good, basic, stay-at-home kind of game. Protect the netfront. Things that he has been doing well in Providence, he was able to bring up here now. I thought he had a good game for us. “
Callahan’s meat-and-potatoes, hard-nosed approach may not lead to several entries on Boston’s year-end highlight reel.
But the former Providence College Friar helped shore up a teamwide defense structure that sprung several leaks on Wednesday against the Devils.
A day removed from Boston surrendering three power-play tallies and 13 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 play in Newark, the Bruins responded with one of their better defensive showings in weeks against a desperate Senators squad.
Ottawa only generated four high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 action against Joonas Korpisalo — tied for the fourth-fewest allowed by Boston this season — while the Bruins’ PK finished with a perfect 4-for-4 showing.
It was the type of blueprint that a Bruins team short on high-end skill needs to adhere to if it wants to remain in the playoff picture this season. And it’s an approach that benefited a no-frills blueliner like Callahan in his first game in over a week.
“I think just trusting my defensive instincts out there, trusting my feet, my gaps, and playing against that next level skill level up from the AHL, it’s a bit different,” Callahan acknowledged. “So just trusting my instincts.”
Having settled into his role in Boston after a whirlwind call-up from Providence last week, Callahan has felt right at home when skating alongside other stay-at-home blueliners like Carlo.
As expected, the Callahan-Carlo duo saw zero offensive-zone faceoffs during their 11:49 of 5-on-5 reps together against Ottawa — but only relinquished one high-danger scoring chance over that extended stretch.
“He’s great — and not even just on the ice,” Callahan said of Carlo. “Obviously on the ice, he’s super steady and reliable, an easy guy to play with. Off the ice, too, just his personality, the way he’s he’s super vocal on the bench and in the locker room. It goes a long way.”
The reps won’t get any easier for Callahan up at the NHL ranks, especially with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the Colorado Avalanche coming to town on Saturday.
But Callahan believes that those taxing, arduous shifts against high-powered offenses are where he thrives whenever he hops over the boards.
“It’s a role I’ve kind of been doing for a while now in Providence,” Callahan said of earning several PK shifts on Thursday. “It’s something I take a lot of pride in. And I know I can go out there and do the job.”
On the mend
After missing Thursday’s game against Ottawa with an upper-body injury, Jeremy Swayman was back between the pipes for Friday’s practice in Brighton. Sacco — who noted Thursday that the team was “cautiously optimistic” about Swayman’s availability Saturday — said that the goalie “should be an option” for the matinee matchup against Colorado.
On the blue line, Hampus Lindholm skated with the main practice group again on Friday, albeit still draped in a red, non-contact sweater. The veteran defenseman has not played since Nov. 12 after taking a puck off the knee in a road game against the Blues.
Charlie McAvoy, sidelined for the last five games due to an upper-body injury, did not skate on Friday. However, Sacco stressed that McAvoy has not gone through any setbacks in his recovery.
“The plan is the same,” Sacco said of McAvoy. “He’s been off, this was probably a scheduled or maintenance day off. But he’s getting closer. We’ll reevaluate again after [Saturday’s] game and see where everyone’s at.”
Forward Cole Koepke — out for the last four games after taking a heavy check from Tampa’s Darren Raddysh on Jan. 14 — could also draw back into the lineup Saturday against Colorado, per Sacco.
Roster reshuffles
The Bruins made some tweaks to their NHL roster on Friday, assigning forward Patrick Brown and goaltender Michael DiPietro to Providence.
Sacco said there have been no issues from Elias Lindholm after spending the last few games as the team’s third-line center.
A bottom-six pivot with a $7.75 million annual price tag is far from ideal, but Sacco stressed that Lindholm played a key role in Thursday’s defensive showing, especially after getting promoted back up to the top-six grouping with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle in the third period.
“It’s all about what’s what’s best for the team,” Sacco noted.
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