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BreKel
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 3,537
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So with that, Boston Bruins will be playing Toronto in the Easten Conference Quarterfinals. Cassidy said yesterday that Rick Nash, Riley Nash, and Sean Kuraly are all progressing and could return for Game #1. I will say that getting Riley Nash back may have the most impact of the three. He should have won the 7th Player Award this year for the Bruins, and his lost has been a big one for the team. He's been extremely important for the Bruins this whole season. He had a career year for points, and I would say that he's one of the better defensive centers in the NHL. He solidified the 3rd line, and actually played great when he had to move up when Bergeron was out. Strength down the middle is always important, and we could use that.
That said, getting both Rick Nash and even Sean Kuraly would be excellent. Debrusk/Krejci/Nash, when all were together, were a solid 2nd line. They were very good in possession and DeBrusk, particularly, seemed to really benefit from Rick Nash's game. Going against Toronto who has a lot of forward talent, getting our own talented 2nd liner back wold be a huge add and give us a difficult top 6 to compete against. Kuraly has been apart of one of the better 4th lines in the league and his re-addition for the Bruins and adds size, speed, and grit to that line. Against the fast skating Leafs team, adding a guy with wheels and size would be nice. Kuraly's straight line speed is very good. I will say, Wingels and Acciari both stepped it up at the end of the season (despite the mediocre overall play from the team, so that would be a difficult decision).
My playoff lineup, if everyone is healthy:
FORWARD LINES:
Marchand -- Bergeron -- Pastrnak
DeBrusk -- Krejci -- Rick Nash
Heinen -- Riley Nash -- Backes
Schaller -- Kuraly -- Acciari/Wingels
Donato = Extra #1 if an injury or poor play occurs from anyone in the top 9.
Wingels/Acciari = Extra #2 if an injury or poor play occurs from anyone in bottom 6
Gionta = Extra #2.5 if an injury or poor play occurs from anyone in top 12, and you want to add a veteran presence.
Czarnik, Szwarz = Worst case situations
DEFENSE:
Chara -- McAvoy
Krug -- Miller
Grzelcyk -- McQuaid
Holden = Extra #1 for injury or poor play from bottom pairing
Postma, Cross = Worst case situations, Cross is a "please no" situation.
GOALIES
Rask
Khudobin