Pastrnak-less Bruins look to keep rolling at Ducks
Having already shown they can win at home without David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins now get a chance to do the same on the road when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Pastrnak, whose 31 goals lead the Bruins, is out for at least two weeks following a procedure to repair an off-ice thumb injury. In their first game without him Tuesday, goals were not a problem in a 6-3 victory over the much-improved Chicago Blackhawks. Now comes a trip to Anaheim against a Ducks squad that has been mired in one of the worst runs in franchise history, having lost 19 of their last 22 games. "We're going to need contributions from everybody with 'Pasta' going down there for a bit," left winger Brad Marchand said, according to NHL.com. Marchand leads the Bruins with 69 points, three more than Pastrnak, after collecting a goal and three assists against the Blackhawks. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and two assists in the victory. "Heinen was unreal ... made a lot of big plays," Marchand said. "Jake was very clutch as well, so great games by them. It's fun to see them play like that and add some much-needed depth to our group. Heinen has been great the last little bit, so we need that to continue." The Bruins (32-17-8, 72 points) have recorded a point in eight straight games (5-0-3), all since the All-Star break. Now comes a West Coast trip to Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Las Vegas, before a stop at St. Louis ahead of a return home Feb. 26 against the Sharks. The Ducks know all about long journeys, playing at home just once in 31 days before earning a 1-0 victory in their own building Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks. In the first game with Bob Murray serving as head coach, rookie goaltender Kevin Boyle earned the shutout in his first career start. He stopped 35 shots to become the first Ducks goaltender with a shutout in his initial start since All-Star John Gibson did the same in 2014. Gibson (upper body) went on the injured reserved list Wednesday, opening the door for Boyle's opportunity. "It was how calm he was," Murray said of Boyle. "He was calm, and that's what I like about him." Murray -- the team's vice president and general manager, who has never been an NHL head coach -- said he wanted to move to the bench for the time being to get an up-close-and-personal look at the team and what makes it click during games. In the first game under Murray, the Ducks showed an aggressive style of play, with players like Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler all participating in on-ice skirmishes with the Canucks. "Everything was positive on the bench," Murray said. "They were helping each other. When you have struggled like as bad as they have struggled, you have to trust one another again. That will come. There were some pieces of them trusting each other again, and that's how you have to do it." More than a physical brand of hockey, though, what the Ducks really need is goals. They got away with a low-scoring victory Wednesday, but it has not worked often, as the Ducks are 22-26-9 (53 points), while sitting last in the league with 128 total goals. By comparison, the Tampa Bay Lightning entered Thursday with an NHL-high 223 goals. In addition to Gibson's injury, the Ducks are also without goaltender Chad Johnson (head). Forwards Patrick Eaves (illness) and Kevin Roy (upper body) are day-to-day, while forward Ondrej Kase (shoulder) is out indefinitely. In addition to Pastrnak's injury, defenseman Matthew Grzelcyk (lower body) is day-to-day for the Bruins. --Field Level Media |