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Bruins will be tuning into 4 Nations showdown between USA, Canada
"Really, I don't care who will win."
The two-week break sandwiched within the NHL calendar in February has gone from bust to boom in record time.
After years of stale enthusiasm during All-Star Weekend festivities, the NHL and NHLPA’s decision to reintroduce best-on-best international competition has invigorated devoted fans of the sport, while also drawing casual viewers to screens across the globe.
The NHL announced Tuesday that the epic clash between Team USA and Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on Saturday drew 10.1 million viewers across North America.
The ongoing tournament has made good on the hope of hockey’s greatest stars turning the spotlight back on the NHL. And given the frantic and physical nature of these bouts in Montreal and Boston, it comes as little surprise that the Bruins dressing room is rife with supporters of the international competition.
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“I thought it was great hockey,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said Tuesday of Team USA’s win over Canada at Bell Centre. “I mean the start was amazing.”
Tuesday marked the return of team practices across the NHL, with clubs looking to shake off the rust after some extended time off during the 4 Nations tournament.
As the Bruins stare at the daunting task of clawing back into the playoff picture over the final 25 games on the regular-season docket, Brandon Carlo took in every 4 Nations game while resting up in his native Colorado over the past week.
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For the Bruins blueliner, watching the action from afar presented the opportunity to pick up pointers from seeing the likes of Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, and Noah Hanifin snuff out scoring chances against Canada.
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“It’s great to try and learn from the best players in the world,” Carlo said. “Obviously, you watch the Canada and U.S. teams — I’m just trying to kind of watch how the defensemen move and break out pucks and things like that. Just kind of trying to learn from it, because they’re there for a reason. It’s been a lot of fun to watch as well. Very high pace.”
While Sacco and Carlo will be rooting for Team USA in their anticipated rematch against Canada during Thursday’s championship game on Causeway Street, David Pastrnak is not picking sides between the likes of teammates Brad Marchand (Canada) and both Jeremy Swayman and a now-injured McAvoy (USA).
“Not really,” Pastrnak said when asked if he has a rooting interest for Thursday. “It’s good for hockey. … I think every hockey fan has to be happy with it. … But for me, personally, I could care less who is going to win. As a hockey fan, I enjoyed those couple games, and I will watch Thursday. But really, I don’t care who will win.”
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For Pastrank — who was disappointed by his native Czechia being excluded from the 4 Nations field last February — the priority moving forward is for TD Garden to host more high-stakes games involving the Bruins this spring.
“The level [of competition] is very high and obviously good for hockey to have this tournament, and obviously for fans to get to see the level that guys perform [at],” Pastrnak said. “I’m happy for our fans in Boston. Hopefully it will be a good game [Thursday].
“But at the end of the day, [I’m] focused on the rest of the season … We have a lot of work to do in our room here with the final 25 games coming up. So that’s where my focus is.”
Help on the blue line?
As the Bruins await word on McAvoy’s health after being admitted to Mass. General Hospital on Monday, his uncertain status comes at the same time that Boston is set to receive a lift on defense in the form of Hampus Lindholm.
At least, such was the thinking entering Boston’s extended break.
“We’re hopeful that when we get back he’s ready,” Sacco said of Lindholm’s recovery timeline on Feb. 7 — nearly three months after the veteran skater took a puck off the knee that has sidelined him for the past 40 games.
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While the Bruins returned to the ice on Tuesday, Lindholm did not skate with the group in Brighton. He took to the frozen sheet roughly 20 minutes after practice wrapped.
Sacco said that Lindholm’s absence from team activities was not a setback of any sort, adding that the 31-year-old defenseman still has a few final hurdles to clear before getting the green light for game action.
“We’re still waiting. He’s going to hopefully have something set up with our medical staff here over the next day or two and we’ll find out where he’s at,” Sacco said of Lindholm. “We will have more clarity after that — after he meets with our medical staff — and we’ll see where he’s at at that point.”
Roster reshuffles
While the Bruins await additional reinforcements from the 4 Nations tournament before Saturday’s game against Anaheim, Boston made a few tweaks to its roster on Tuesday.
The team recalled defenseman Michael Callahan and forward Matt Poitras from Providence, while also calling up forward Riley Tufte from Providence on an emergency basis.
With Swayman still on Team USA’s goalie corps, Boston also brought up netminder Michael DiPietro from Providence. The 25-year-old served as a practice player with the Bruins during this break in action.
Poitras and Callahan made the most of their short stint with Providence over the past week, playing one game with the P-Bruins on Saturday night against Bridgeport. Poitras scored a goal in the 5-0 victory, while Callahan posted a plus-1 rating.
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“We thought it was important that they go down, get some practices, play some games, continue to get the reps in,” Sacco said of the rationale behind sending Poitras and Callahan to Providence during the break. “I think that’s the most important thing for young players. They had a few days off before they went down, so they were able to get some rest.”
DiPietro might be a placeholder in net with Swayman out of the picture, but he’s in the midst of a strong season with Providence, sporting a .928 save percentage and posting four shutouts over 28 games in the AHL ranks.
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