For many NHL groups, shedding your high two facilities, together with your captain, for a pivotal Sport 3 on the highway within the Stanley Cup Playoffs could be a recipe for catastrophe.

However the 2022-23 Boston Bruins will not be like most groups.

The B’s knew they had been going to be with out captain and No. 1 heart Patrice Bergeron for the third straight recreation Friday night time. After which second-line heart David Krejci was a late scratch simply earlier than puck drop regardless of collaborating within the morning skate and pregame warmup.

Jim Montgomery provides new replace on David Krejci’s standing for Sport 4

It was a tricky blow for the Bruins, particularly when you think about how badly their facilities had been outplayed within the Panthers’ Sport 2 win on Wednesday night time. However the Bruins stepped up as a crew, and their unbelievable depth shined in a 4-2 victory in Sport 3 that gave Boston a 2-1 sequence lead and the house ice benefit. 

“We’re constructed for the lengthy haul,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery stated in his postgame press convention. “Yeah, we’d like to have Bergy, however accidents are going to occur. We consider that we have now the depth to beat quite a few accidents. I believe the hassle tonight is an efficient instance, and it ought to give all people confidence, as a result of I assumed all people contributed to our victory immediately.”

Depth has been a significant energy for Boston all season, and it confirmed Friday night time.

The Bruins had 4 totally different purpose scorers. Eight totally different gamers tallied not less than one level. 5 totally different gamers had three or extra pictures on internet. 4 gamers blocked two or extra pictures. Ten gamers dished out two or extra hits.

Probably the greatest examples of the Bruins’ extraordinary depth was the efficiency of Charlie Coyle. 

He performed in Bergeron’s spot because the first-line heart alongside Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, and the Weymouth, Mass., native dominated at each ends of the ice. Coyle acquired his first purpose of the playoffs six minutes into the second interval after deflecting a Marchand shot previous Panthers goalie Alex Lyon. He gained a hard-fought battle in entrance of the web towards an elite two-way heart in Aleksander Barkov to be in place to tip that shot. Coyle accounted for six of the Bruins’ 10 high-danger scoring possibilities throughout 5-on-5 motion.

“He was a person possessed on the market, the way in which he took pucks to the web,” Montgomery stated of Coyle. “I liked him within the faceoff dot. I assumed he managed the center of the ice and I assumed at each purpose strains he made actually good performs. He ended performs in our zone and he made performs of their zone. That second purpose, him being on the entrance of the web there, that is an actual good signal for us offensively and an actual good signal for him that he is in these areas. That is the place he scores.”

But it surely wasn’t simply Coyle who stepped up. 

Taylor Corridor opened the scoring simply 2:26 into the primary interval. He had a two-point night time. Nick Foligno was initially going to be a wholesome scratch however was within the lineup after Krejci’s late scratch. He scored Boston’s fourth purpose and in addition had 4 pictures and 4 hits. David Pastrnak scored his second purpose of the sequence and led all Bruins with 12 shot makes an attempt, seven pictures on internet and 7 scoring possibilities. Dmitry Orlov picked up major assists with two pinpoint lengthy passes to arrange Corridor and Pastrnak’s targets. Charlie McAvoy set a bodily tone all through the sport with a team-high eight hits, together with a huge one on Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen throughout his first shift. Matt Grzelcyk was a wholesome scratch the primary two video games, made his sequence debut Friday and performed effectively. 

“There have been a variety of guys who had monster video games tonight,” Coyle informed reporters postgame, as seen on NESN. “It is simply enormous. And it is not simply scoring or making enormous performs, it is simply little issues — shopping for time to interrupt the puck out, blocking pictures, getting the puck out once we’ve been on the market for a short time. Guys knew the duty at hand and adopted via and did it. That is an indication of crew, simply understanding what’s at stake in that second and doing the job that must be achieved.”

Depth has been an Achilles’ heel for the Bruins in latest playoff runs, together with final season once they relied method an excessive amount of on their top-six forwards in a first-round defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes. Bruins common supervisor Don Sweeney began bolstering his crew’s depth final summer season by buying Pavel Zacha through commerce. He additionally added top-four defenseman Dmitry Orlov, top-six wing Tyler Bertuzzi and bottom-six wing Garnet Hathaway earlier than the March 3 commerce deadline. 

These additions to the lineup, plus improved performances from guys like Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, Linus Ullmark and others, have resulted in a deep, ultra-talented Bruins roster with only a few weaknesses.

Not many groups may face up to shedding their high two facilities and dominate an opponent nearly as good because the Panthers on the highway in a playoff recreation. However the Bruins are in a position to try this due to their depth, management and next-man-up mentality. 

Friday night time’s Sport 3 simply may have been a nightmare for the Bruins. As a substitute, it grew to become considered one of their gutsiest and most full victories of your entire season.