Bruins Return Energized After Break | The Skate Pod, Ep 258

Bruins Return Energized After Break | The Skate Pod, Ep 258

Welcome into episode 258 of the skate podcast I’m Brian D fiss joined by Bridget PR and Scott mcclaflin the Bruins had a season long four game losing streak it was not pretty but they did put an end to it in Buffalo with a 4-1 win over the Sabres we’re going to

Get into our opening shifts but before we do that I am very honestly very proud Bridget to to throw this over to you you have some exciting news to share um with some uh 2024 Endeavors for you let’s let’s yes yes I do so I can finally

Announce that I’ve had um in the works a few different things from my career so uh back in December I got hired for the doing the women’s bean pot uh so I’ll be broadcasting all four of those games on nesson and we will have a great all

Female crew uh Sophia yish will also be part of that broadcast hosting the intermission so we’ll be doing all four games for that um which is exciting because it’ll be the first time the women’s bean pot a championship game will be played at TD Garden so I know

Everybody on the woman’s side of things is really happy about that and I’m happy to be a part of that as well and then after that I actually got some even bigger news I also got hired to be one of the broadcasters for p the pwl Boston

Team so I just signed my contract yesterday um and that home opener for Boston is January 3rd so we’re right we’re almost at the season it’s less a week away um so really excited to be part of that league as it starts up um

And now I have a lot more work guys but uh I’ll still be here I’ll still be with you um I’m just gonna be really freaking busy so have fun trying to uh pick a time for us to record because luckily I’m doing the home games only if I was

Traveling this would probably be impossible but no I will still be here um doing the podcast going to the Bruins games doing my other two jobs at Hockey East and Providence but um two exciting little new job opportunities for me so thanks for letting me uh announce that

Here yeah and I obviously Echo Brian that it’s awesome and we’re very proud of you and extremely well deserved um anyone who’s you know listened to to Bridget doing a college hockey broadcast knows she’s very good at that so um yeah just the bean poot for sure but

Especially the D and uh pwl like that’s that’s really exciting um I’m excited for that League I think I’m probably gonna go to that opener it’s right down the street from me at the songa center in L um but yeah I mean a lot of a lot

Of the best women’s players in the world in that league so that you know hopefully hopefully they they hit the ground running and uh give us some great women’s hockey yeah yeah it’s gonna be played at the songus center up in L which that’s what Scott’s referring to

Really close to to to Scott where he lives um and actually the Toronto Ottawa and Montreal home openers are all sold out already like Toronto’s entire season uh is sold out believe it or not and they’re playing at the Old Maple Leafs Gardens uh up in Toronto so um the

Canadians are all over this uh we we got to get we got to get the Americans on board too but I know there was a lot of support for the Boston Pride and hopefully that transfers over to the New Boston pwl team yeah I was looking I was

Looking at tickets the other day just for the heck of it and there are still some left so you know if people want to go they can still get tickets but um it wasn’t a ton like it there were a bunch of sections in the song it said at least

For the opener said like limited availability so uh definitely seems like you know there’s some excitement and that’s obviously a much bigger venue than where the pride played which their games are a warrior I love songus sis is one of the best places to broadcast it’s also like newly renovated I don’t know

Actually when the renovations were but it looks really nice um I love broadcasting there and if if it adds to anyone come say hi to me I will say hi to any of our podcast listeners if you want to come up to me before the game

And just say hello um I will be more than happy to and I’ll bring some Scot pop stickers I’ll hand those out uh so I’m excited for that it’s coming up quick I’m really cramming for it because a lot of information to try to get together about you know all these new

Players in this new league but I’m excited for it now one thing you don’t have to memorize just yet is is team names just cities right the teams cities it’s kind of like the Washington football team it’s like the Boston pwhl team that is who I’m broadcasting for

Named to be determined a lot is to be determined right now but name I want them to wait on the name though because I want it to be a good name it needs take some time take some time think about it make it good I know

What would be you I’m trying to think put us on the spot here what a what a good what a good name would be for a Boston team maybe we can think of one by the end of the podcast whatever yeah all right well we’ll bring I’ll bring it to

My bosses later okay they they should just since they’re in low they should just bring back the low lock monsters just be the low lock it’ be the Boston lock monsters yeah it would have to be Boston saying just just throw L on there we’ll adopt

Them all right um so yeah Bridget that’s awesome news and and very exciting so as pertains to the skate podcast and the Bruins and and recent games and news yeah let’s just dive right into it we had a few days off obviously for the holiday so um there’s what three or four

Games maybe that we we missed um but we’re going to talk about them now so opening shifts and and Scott why don’t we start with you well The Vibes have totally changed for this team uh you know the last time we recorded I think they lost two in a row

So there’re starting to be some negative Vibes and then they lost two two more after that going into Christmas break uh in Winnipeg and Minnesota um really just played poorly in those two games especially the Winnipeg game they you know started a little better Against the Wild but then

Fell apart um seems like the Christmas break just came at a perfect time for them uh a lot of the the talk after practice today was just about kind of mental mentally resetting um you know getting away from getting their minds away from the game a little bit over

Christmas and then just coming back with a better attitude yesterday in Buffalo Jim Montgomery even said that you know he he noticed himself kind of getting negative about things and was able to reset and kind of come back to the rank on Tuesday with with a more positive

Approach and then when they got on the ice for practice on Wednesday they hit the I to an awesome atmosphere at Warrior uh with it being school vacation week it was packed it was standing room only there were a ton of kids obviously on vacation um signs chanting cheering like reacting to Big

Saves and goals like it was it was great it was a great atmosphere and I think the players fed off that Montgomery said it was the best practice they’ve had in a long time um so yeah it’s amazing just what you know a couple days and a little

Bit of a reset can can do for a team because now it’s you know seems like everyone’s feeling feeling really good about themselves and that was not the case four days ago yeah actually it’s kind of funny those practices are aren’t they open to the public yeah you can really just kind

Of head in there and and enjoy them and as you know as a hockey fan if I if I lived closer and I was like a young kid I I would have gone all the time uh and I have seen some cute moments there because um this was actually at their

Old practice rink but Charlie McAvoy there was this one uh fan who had autism and Charlie maoy was was just coming out of Buu and he was like his biggest fan at Buu and he like had a sign and was cheering for him and Charlie came over

And took some pictures with him so like there’s you there’s an opportunity to kind of get closer and and see a little bit different side of the the players a little bit closer up for people who want to go to practice um it’s it’s a good

Option I will go to my opening shift which is quick before you do yours um it it was full like an hour ahead of time because I think I don’t know exactly how the public finds out what time practices are or whatever but I think a lot of

People thought it was an 11:00 a.m. practice which most of theirs are today was actually a noon practice because they got back late from Buffalo and I got there at 11:30 and it was already standing room only and from what I understand like it was packed by 11 am

So uh an hour ahead of time and you know everyone just stayed and seemed to have a great time yeah yeah no I mean go if you if you live there walk right over um but yeah so I’ll get to my opening shift so for me a huge difference in this game

After the break in Buffalo was the power play um and so they go three for four on the power play which and it was clicking better than it has been in the previous I don’t know how many games it’s been a it’s been a while since it’s really been

Clicking well and it was really coming from that second power play unit too Charlie Coyle um and Jake debrus working really well on the power play together on that second unit uh poso and marshan were out there I believe for both of those Power Play Goals uh because pasta

Stays out there for both units like he’s out there pretty much the entire power play um but I think one of the main reasons why they were able to dominate the game the way they did was Buffalo took a lot of penalties and the Bruins were able to capitalize on the power

Play yeah the power play was great and you know it’s also uh it leads into another discussion about their five on five generation and and lack thereof and lack of production there but at least the the power play and the Special Teams came through against Buffalo uh for me I I think that

This this slide has been a good thing for the Bruins I’ve been I I I’ve seen it coming for a while I talked about a few weeks ago how I didn’t think this team was as good as their record indicated that they were um and at the

Time that was the best team in the NHL or maybe second and you know I I just what I was watching just wasn’t that I even even last night in in the wi in Buffalo like all year I haven’t really seen a Bruins team that just dominated possession five on five

And really imposed their will it’s it’s kind of you know it’s a team that has really strong goal tending enough up front you know obviously a good back end but just kind of they they do enough to get wins um but you don’t always love

The way they look doing it and I think that’s okay like I don’t I don’t need the Brun Ru to be playing their best hockey um in December as opposed to April I’m just I just knew that this team wasn’t as good as the record indicated and I wasn’t allow myself to

Be fooled by it and then here comes the the the four game losing streak where they looked pretty damn bad in uh in that and I’m thinking to myself well they’re obviously not that bad but they’re somewhere in between um so so this win against Buffalo like I just

Think it’s important for them because it’s important for them to get slapped in the face a few times throughout the course of the Season which they did and honestly the losing streak could have gone a couple extra games uh I wouldn’t really have cared I I didn’t view

Buffalo as a must win like I I think that they have enough cushion in the standings like keep you know keep keep getting humbled right keep keep learning tough lessons and but they did pull up the win in Buffalo and so it seems as though that the break was a good reset

For them um I just think it was a good thing for them I can’t watch this team and you know Coast through a regular season thinking that they’re you know uh God’s gift to to this earth when when they have they have deficiencies and they have to they have to know to work

On them um and so I think it was a good thing for them I still think that the roster um needs some upgrades this current group though they needed this I think and whatever they do going forward they’ll be better off for it yeah and you know

Who agrees with you is the Bruins um because they they’ve whether it’s Montgomery or players they’ve all you know said something along similar lines as to what you’re were just saying which is like you know last year they didn’t face really any adversity in the regular

Season certainly not much of it I think that one three- game losing streak in there um but you know they’ve all kind of said like these are these are the things that you grow from as a team over the course of the season and you know certainly Montgomery obviously has the

Most experience has been around the game the most so he you know knows it knows it best but he’s he’s talked about that about how um you know it’s it’s he said today like you hate it when you’re going through it and you get into like a dark space where you wonder like

Oh my God are we ever G to get out of it how do we turn it around and then he said when you come out the other side you realize like you’ve learned a lessons and you’ve learned things about yourself and how you need to play and

You know that you’re not going to go out and dominate like last year’s team did um you know he used the word overwhelm he said you know last year they were able to just overwhelm opponents and they can’t do that this year like that’s it’s a difference between winning on

Talent and winning on hard work and last year’s team I think worked hard don’t get me wrong but they won a lot of games on talent and that’s not a luxury that this year’s team is really going to have like if they don’t they don’t work hard

They’re going to lose to pretty much anyone and if they’re playing a good team like Winnipeg who is rolling they’re going to get their doors blown off and like that can be a really humbling experience yeah and and I I I think Buffalo was probably a great team to

Come out of the break against and uh because you know they’re not they’re not a terrible team uh we thought maybe they might even be you know a wild card team this year at some point it’s not too late for them still um but they also were without T it’s get it’s getting

Late getting late early it’s getting a little late but you know they have given up yet uh uh so I it did it was a setback for them though that they were without Tage Thompson who didn’t play for a personal reason um and that’s obviously a huge part of their five on

Five offense and their power play um and to just kind of like expand on my lead a little bit more into the Special Teams as a whole ruins killed off all all six penalties that they got um once again some weird officiating marshan getting uh consecutive penalties because he

Litters The Penalty Box and freaks out because he doesn’t like the crosschecking call um and you know some of that has to be taken out of the game though though I do know why he was so pissed um and can completely understand that uh and you know maybe the ref

Should have just look the other way on that some of them will some of them won’t uh but the Bruins ended up taking six penalties and there was at one point in the game where it was like so many penalties both sides consecutively where it was like five on four four on four

Four on three five on three five on four like it just kept going back and forth so special teams was all over the place in this game but the Bruins definitely won the Special Teams battle yeah you had the rare situation where the Bruins took a penalty and the manow didn’t

Change because they literally couldn’t take another player off the ice like yeah they all already only had three people on the ice so yeah that that definitely got bunched up with the penalties there in the middle but you’re right right Brun you know Brun special teams was was dominant and Brian you

Mentioned five on five like I know the Bruns end up only scoring once five on five but I did think they for the most part controlled play at five on five as well and I thought it was one of their better five on five games recently um

Especially like the middle six lines I thought the Martian and Coyle debrusk line um you know obviously they they scored two Power Play Goals with debrusk and setting up coil but I thought 515 that was maybe the best the best game in a while that like

A martian coil line has played I’ve I’ve talked about how like I didn’t think they had Very Much Chemistry at times and didn’t really seem to be clicking uh I thought they looked pretty good and then the the third line sort of the mismatch line of uh van reik Fredrick

And Heinen I thought that line had a good game too so um some encouraging signs there as well even even though yeah special teams was was the big story and you know not for nothing and I I know we already talk about Charlie Coyle and how good he is on the penalty kill

But he also was a huge part like you said he was great five on five he scores two Power Play Goals he also did a great job on the penalty kill so did Jake debrusk I just because of the conversations we’ve had around Jake debrusk this season and in particular

Recently I just kind of find myself watching him like trying to watch the play but also trying to watch him specifically and you know where is working where he’s hustling just just to like make sure I’m not crazy and make sure I’m not like missing him like

Slowly going through a puck like from what I saw on his penalty kill he was working really hard on the power play he was working hard I just thought he had a really um he had a game where you can’t go oh you know you should have hustled a

Little harder to me he looked like he was working hard in all in in all strengths you know uh Power Play penalty kill even strength that and we’ll get to him a little bit later but I just wanted to point that out about like the Special

Teams him and Coy when they’re the two forwards on the ice I thought they did really well yeah I agree with that I agree with that uh so another thing too that’s that I I think is pretty evident I think is right now the way that this this roster

Is constructed personnel-wise I I don’t think it’s wise to have Marian and pasak on the same line I just don’t think there’s not enough high-end probably skill to load up just one line uh because I just think it toples the rest of the lines right so in a situation

Like last night where you have them on separate lines I think that’s good I think it’s better for the Bruins um I don’t know if you guys feel the same way about keeping them apart yeah I I agree and part of the reason I agree is that when Maran and

POS have been together that line hasn’t been dominant like in fact it’s struggled at times um so unless you’re loading them up and getting like a truly dominant Top Line that can take over game games then I might understand it because there’s going to be times where you

Might just need that it might you might just be in a game where you just need your your stars to take over and if they’re on the same line that helps you do it but if they’re not really playing like that and they’re kind of up and

Down and you know they have a couple good games and then a couple quiet ones like that really doesn’t do any do you any good so yeah you might as well spread them out and try to get um you know even if you don’t have one dominant

Line at least a couple lines or ideally three even four that um Can chip in and create chances on any given night so I have a question for you guys regarding Center ice and I know we talked about at length with Bridget did you have something to to say right there

No you’re just yawning no but I’m I know what you’re going to here and I’m this I want to talk about okay I know what you’re going to I’m reading your yes we have that chemistry I’ve been linm for a couple years now um we’re like the Perfection pod um so Pavo zaka

Gets moved to the wing for Morgan geki Now Matt pot is and Junior’s right now so he’s on an option Georgie meroff is in Providence and hasn’t played a game for the Bruins so as we currently speak he’s not an option as we currently speak when you listen a little more on that

Later too yeah a little more on that later for sure time out time out every time we say something like this we’ll we’ll we’ll record we’ll post and then it’ll be like five minutes in like five minutes after I put it up it’s like Georgie mov we jump

Ahad we’re gonna talk about I want to talk about mov so we’re gonna get there I won’t forget Bridget should we should we should we just jump ahead and say so mery’s been called up and what do you guys think just pretend yeah probably um but even even if like Choose Your Own

Adventure listen to these next 10 minutes if the call them up on Friday skip over that if they don’t right exactly but even if even if he were to get called up right at the NHL level he’s still an unknown so you can’t even rely on that right but the Bruins move

Zaka to the wing um obviously Coy’s playing like a top two Center this year you know zaka pointwise is but well borderline but I guess my question for you guys is like do they Envision zaka being on the wing long term with this current grouping of

Forwards I don’t think he’s too good of a talent to to not have as one of your top two centers like you don’t want Morgan geeki as one of your top two Centers do you well that actually was what I was going to say and I think that

They’re what they’re kind of saying is Morgan geeki right now is playing more comfortably as a center than than you know first of all than he’s playing as a wing but maybe even more so than than what they’ve seen from zaka at Center so I think the fact that Morgan geeki has

Had such a strong game since first of all zaka was out and now Patra is in World Juniors I think he’s kind of try almost like digging out that Center role and I I do think he played decent on the wing but he you can tell a difference in

In his confidence when he plays at Center so um I think that bumps zaka over which sounds a little bit counterintuitive because we talked about this maybe being their long-term option for the center top line Center at least second line Center um so it changes that

And I think I have a different opinion than you too about whether or not I want zaka to play Wing because I I know you guys aren’t really for it but I actually like when he plays leftwing and I think that it opens up different combinations

Um that you know you can maybe try out and and there was one time earlier in the season and we’re talking about when ptrack comes back here that they had zaka Patra pasta and I would like to see that again at some point so like just

The fact that both Kiki and zaka can be versatile and play either Wing or Center I think helps yeah I don’t so Montgomery was asked about this on Thursday and I think he was specifically asked like do you want to take a longer look at Zach on

The wing and he said not basically not necessarily what I want to take a longer look at is geeki playing between zaka and P um which I don’t have a problem with again you’re still technically you’re still in the first half of the season so I I’ve said this before with like line

Changes I have no problem seeing lots of different combinations and people in different spots and just see what you have and give things a few games and see how it looks like it’s good to know all these things going forward down the line you know hey can Morgan geeky move up in

The lineup and Center these guys can pavlaka move over to the wing and you know play the way he played on the wing last year or is he so set at center now that he’s going to struggle on the wing like those are just good things to

Figure out so so I don’t have an issue with it um I was say talking longer term I guess what concerns me with this current lineup is like if zaka is on the wing as good as Morgan geeki has played recently I still have a hard time

Imagining him being a legitimate top two Center long term on a team with Stanley Cup aspirations maybe I’m just underestimating him maybe he’ll blow me away but I just don’t see him as that kind of play long term what I do look at is hey when

You slide pav zaka over to the wing boy doesn’t that open up a spot for someone like I don’t know Elias Lindholm but that’s obviously down the road as well I don’t think that trade’s happening now so um yeah I think with the current roster I still think you’re probably at your

Best with zaka at Center but I have no problem in the shorter term seeing how this looks yeah I I agree with that I think I agree with all that actually like I I I don’t have an issue with it right now you kind of it’s a long it’s a long

Season you want to see different looks and and find different ways to motivate guys and and reward guys and and send messages to guys right it’s kind of a indictment on zaka a little bit too that he got to get pushed to the Wi because

If he was lighting it up uh you know they probably wouldn’t have moved them um but I don’t see Morgan gei is somebody who has the foot speed to keep up with uh you know top centers in this league when when the hockey matters most in the springtime I just don’t see it

It’s not that he’s not a smart player or a crafty player or knows where to go where to be I just think there’s a and I again Scott you just said it maybe I’m underestimating him too but visually I I don’t see the foot speed there to keep

Up with you know the top centers in the Eastern Conference if you were to match up against them so uh if this is the second half of the season for me it has to be has to be a top two Center uh with Coyle and or padra or whatever um and

That’s you know that’s without knowing any potential trade down the line as well I do think though that like you mentioned you’ve said underrated a few times about geeki I think he is and I think he still has more to show and I think he’s been looking for a team to

Actually like give him a chance with his skill set because I feel like when he was in Seattle um which by the way he got taken in the expansion draft and and ended up over there and they never really found like a true role for him he

Was playing on the fourth line so when he has this opportunity to play up in the lineup he’s probably thinking to himself like this is this is a great opportunity and I can actually show what I can do and he’s you know he signed a two-year contract $2 million a year with

The Bruins they found somebody that was better than what the rest of the league thought he was so that’s exactly what you’re trying to do in the offseason is identify someone that you can bring in and afford which you know $2 million they they could afford that contract

They didn’t have a lot of cap space but that was actually going to outperform what people thought of him and I think he has so far so the bar I think the bar was low they expected it to be low but he’s kind of just like moving it up and

Up and up and showing that he’s he can do better than just play you know fourth line Center uh he can play anywhere in the lineup yeah and in some ways it’s a little similar to the bet that they made on zaka which is talented player has

Kind of been moved around maybe been a little lower in the lineup on another team and you give him a little more of an opportunity and see if he can run with it and obviously it paid off with zaka you know again taking like the bigger picture of like can he be your

Number one center Long Term just in terms of he’s clearly established himself as a top six forward whether you think he’s a center or wing and that was an opportunity he really wasn’t getting in Jersey um so yeah geeki you know not as highly touted like Zach was the

Number six overall pick um geeki I think was a third round pick maybe but always had Talent like put up big offensive numbers in juniors um but yeah just ended up lowering the lineup in Carolina lowering the lineup in Seattle and we talked about it over the summer like I

Mentioned sort of you know D Antics showed that he you know in terms of like five on five points for 60 minutes like there were really good signs there especially when it came to playmaking assists um and you wondered you know hey can that translate if we give him more

Five on five minutes can he continue to produce at that kind of rate against tougher competition playing with better players um and you you didn’t really see it early on this season in part because he moved moved around a little bit then got hurt but yeah you you do see it now

As he gets an opportunity on the top line next to pasok on the top power play unit um you see him putting up more points so like I said I still have questions about whether that is sustainable long term but for now yeah great for him like he’s definitely

Taking taking advantage of an opportunity okay so we have a couple of more topics to get to but before that maybe we should uh shift over to uh the who’s up and the Who’s down uh so I think you might not hear this too often

So I would I I would open yours nice and wide but for Brian Jake debrusk is up right now Jake debrus he’s up wow he’s up he’s awake he’s awake the alarm went off he pressed news for you know the entire season but here here we are in December uh you know

December 28th and and he woke up no I’m just kidding um but he did get two assists against Buffalo and I could be a cynic guys and sit here and say well the second assist he got I mean Charlie Coro was trying to pass it to to the ref it

Wasn’t even meant to be a goal um and that there were both both assists came on the power play I could be a cynic and say that but I you are a cynic and you just did say that I could be I could be

A cynic and say that but I won’t be I will sit here and say that uh that he did get two assists on those plays and he was doing it because he made the right plays um you know the first assist he he took the pucker on a net and like

Was just it’s a smart play it’s a skillful play a skillful pass to Coyle in front but what I like about the second assist all joking aside is that you know for all de brus knows when he pass that puck to Coyle Coyle snaps it

In for a nice goal um but he did win a race to that loose Puck um and he did absorb body cont contact in getting that P to coil uh so why I was being fous earlier about the being cynical but like that like that’s a it’s it’s a it’s it’s

Doing what it takes to to make a smart play and um you know so Scott could probably say to me like well Brian he’s made a ton of plays this year where he’s made plays like that but the puck didn’t end up going in for somebody and it

Could have led to potential points in the past and and that’s that’s fair I that is fair but I I will say last night the assist happened so you have to give him credit for for finding the score sheet yeah I mean along those lines like

I think I mentioned this at the time but there was one game it’s either like early in the four game losing streak or maybe just before that where he set up POS for two chances almost exactly like the ones Coyle buried and you know oddly enough like Coyle buries those and in

That other game I’m talking about P did like I think the goalie made a great save on one and I think he might have shot it like into his chest on the other but yeah I was I was talking to Charlie Coyle after practice on Thursday and

Asked him like because I had talked to him last week asked him about like de Brusque you know kind of slumping or whatever and um I as you know i’ asked him like do you find that because by the way Coyle snapped his own six game pointless streak both of them had had

Gone six games at that point um I was like you know Ken setting up goals like bring that confidence back the same way goals can and he was like I think so especially when it’s like the direct primary assist like that when you’re the one making the key pass to set up the

Goals so yeah if you’re the Bruins obviously you hope that that does get de bruss going and that he feels a little better about himself and it’s you know you also hope that like what he realizes is the rever right like how did you get an assist on those goals

Because Charlie Co was right in front with a stick on the ice ready to shoot like Jake de bruss can also be in those situations be set up right in front with the stick on the ace ready to shoot and someone else sets him up so

Just all around like I think good to just see plays like that work for him where it’s like oh okay like we got the puck to the front someone was there and they buried it and you know scored from really in close um now if you see de

Bruss score a couple of those like that’s sort of the last step now that’s needed is great he’s he’s setting up linemates got a couple points that’s good like you you want those points on your you know next to your name now it’s got to be okay still

Needs the goals he still needs some finishes like that himself yeah and so we’ve kind of already touched on two guys that I would also say were ups and Morgan geeki won we’ve already talked a little bit about him but just to expand a little bit further goals in back-to-back games uh

Three points in the last four games just and just the you know the eye test um going to the right uh parts of the ice using his body the right way going to the net um Morgan geeki kind of self-explanatory is an up and the other

One is Charlie Coyle who we talked about um being the goal scorer on those plays that de Brusque made um and he needs to get back into that uh the way that stretch that he was playing earlier in the season where once again we we did the segment and we were you

Know praising what Charlie Coyle was able to do but he has the skill set in front of the net too like we’ve seen him used there on the power play not as often recently but still occasionally um so he has that skill set right in front

Of the net that he can roof it like that he’s he’s a good goal scorer um and now you kind of see him being the leader of that line uh Marshon you know we we mentioned him playing next to Marshon sometimes Marshon takes it over

But you’d love to see Coyle take it over too at different times and and use his skills to because he can just as easily set up the Rusk in front of the net or marshan in front of the net so you could really see the potential of that line

They just need to play more to it and you saw it I know we mentioned this was on the power play but uh you know even strength don’t see why you couldn’t do it even strength either viously you have a little bit more space to work with and

And an advantage on the power play but you know you could you could do those same things five on five so I think Coyle was back on the up like you mentioned uh having a two goal game is always good uh making an impact on the

Power play is always good and like we mentioned he was great five on five and short-handed as well yeah I I agree with all that uh and up for me is Mason lorai who scored the first goal Wednesday night um minut Danton heining gets a poke check Laur

Makes a good play to step up win possession dishes over to Trent Frederick for the Zone entry and then doesn’t just pull up or stop at the point he drives the net Ben reik throws a shot on and he’s perfect spot to bury a rebound um I think Mason lay in

General has been playing better and looking more confident and comfortable at the NHL level and that probably flew a little bit under the radar during the losing streak where I think you know and we were maybe even guilty of this like just like oh well the whole team stinks

But to me like the Bruns problems during that losing streak really started with their top players not playing well it wasn’t it wasn’t really an issue of depth to me like I didn’t look at like their third pairing or fourth line and be like wow these guys suck you can’t

Play them like no it was like Po and marand and makoy aren’t showing up and playing like we know they’re capable of so I think I think Lor actually had a couple decent games during that stretch um and just like put some numbers on it

Lor’s first 12 NHL games BR when he was on the ice at five on five Bruins got outscored 13-7 and had just 40% of the shots on goal in his last six games when he’s been on the ice of five on five bru have outscored their opponents 5 to one and

Have 56% of shots on goal so it’s really completely flipped that him the goal’s nice him being involved offensively is nice him being on the ice for just one goal against in the last six games really encouraging uh given where he was earlier this year yeah he’s plus four in

His last six games so he’s and before that he had been putting up mostly you know minus one or or even so you know he’s he’s putting up you know Plus numbers in the last six games and and also you see his intelligence in terms of offense like on that goal that he

Scored which not for nothing was the first goal of the game and kind of kind of sparked a little bit of offense after that he he saw what was happening he saw that you there was going to be a shot and he was either going to be open for

Like a back door pass or taking the the puck um on the rebound and he saw that it was open and he took it um he’s got a smart offensive mind and not every Bruins defenseman would have drove to the net there uh but he knew he could do

It and that there were guys behind him and and he made the right play and and it’s perfect I don’t know if an reik meant to pass it off the pads it kind of looked like he did but you know maybe that was just an honest like low shot

Trying to score five hole or something by Van reti maybe it was intentionally trying to pop the rebound out to whoever was crashing the net but it’s the right move to make and it’s it’s a it’s a nice nice finish as well so he you see that

He can bring more offense than some of the other guys that they’ve called up because we talked about wetherspoon and what he brings physically um we talk about Ian Mitchell being you know offensive minded as well but Mason Laur has that skill set and you saw it on

Display yeah and I think when the Bruins need offense from your back end and they haven’t been getting much with this year he’s been one of the players to provide it I think I think he’s kind of earning his I think he’s earning his way to this

Team um you can’t tell me that Matt grizli is an upgrade over him right now just because of the way grizzli has played so far this year it’s been kind of just not the grizzli that we’re accustomed to combine that with the fact that lorai is producing and it is

Getting better game in and game out and then I mean forward’s a completely different player right so I I just think that I think I think the Bruins I think lorai is is he’s kind of a necessity I think right now I think earlier in the

Year was kind of a luxury to have them right you were like well the Bruins have makoy and L and Carlo and grizzli and whatever but they don’t need lorai right now but I think they kind of do need him right now for a lot of different reasons

I think in that losing streak like yeah Scott you mentioned it it wasn’t necessarily like the defense I mean everybody was playing not great hockey but I think when you’re forced to defend as much as the Bruins Decor was forced to defend there’s only so much been before

You break and I think that like when your offense isn’t carrying enough weight on the other side of the ice and evening playing field it’s like you’re you’re skating uphill uh so I think that had something to do with it as well but yeah I I’ve liked Lor’s game I think

He’s a great he’s a great choice for an up Bridge did you have a follow up on that well I was just gonna say and this may be like somewhat of a a tangent but uh Derek forbert you mentioned that there was no update on him but he W like

He’s not it doesn’t look like he’s close right now um as of practice on Thursday morning so grizzly he hasn’t we haven’t even seen him skating before so as far as we know he hasn’t even started skating yet no and and you know what uh

I I it started to kind of creep into my mind watching the Buffalo game last night that as time goes on and and as he’s out longer I feel like you notice his absence more like in in the sample sides of games that the Bruins have been

Without him I I know he’s not the most flashy defenseman that they have he’s on their bottom pair but he is another big body and he is a great penalty killer and I feel like in some of those losses that the Bruins had or or uh you know

The winless streak that they were on they really could have used someone like that because they’re offensively they weren’t producing but when they have forward as such like a strong defenseman on the back end and they have the strong goal tending sometimes we’ve talked about it many times that that can make

Up for some of the flaws that uh the team has so I I feel like you kind of really noticed it in that stretch of that windless stretch and I just bring it up I know it wasn’t really to do with a most recent game but we also didn’t

Talk about the two games before break and I just feel like there the longer you go without forward you you are missing a certain element of steadiness on the back end and especially on the penalty kill yeah I was gonna say like to me it’s it’s I do think maybe the

Penalty kill was missing him I think there was a stretch there where over like five games they gave up five Power Play Goals on like 14 chances um which obviously is like way below the standards that they’ve set on the PK but I mean I don’t want to I don’t want

To sound like I’m like downplaying forward but I just think they they can if other guys play relatively well I think you can overcome it especially think you’d be fine fine five on five and you might have to change your penalty kill a little bit but I think

You should still be able to kill penalties with what you have like they just go six for six and I know Buffalo is missing Tage Thompson so obviously that’s a big factor there but yeah um certainly a step in the right direction anyways but like and I understand

Witherspoon like is kind of a big body replacing him but he’s not Derek forward like we we at least need to give forber credit that he’s a better defenseman than weather spoon and they’re better with him in the lineup than they are uh with whether smoon or Mitchell in his

Place and like we like what we see from laui but you have these three guys that have been filling in that none of them have officially like taken a spot and I I don’t know I just I’ve thought about the absence of forward over the past few games especially during the losing

Streak I just wanted to bring it up because especially now that we kind of have this idea that it’s it’s going to be a pretty longterm situation for him to recover so you know does it does it pop up as an issue as we go along yeah I

Mean in my mind I’m not even looking at lorise replacing forward I’m looking at him repl placing grizzli because they’re they’re like-minded players um like it’s kind of yeah like each each defenseman has a different role to play and and I don’t think lorai is filling the type of

Role whether it’s Derek for or somebody like him um I’m looking for him to fill that that role of you know the offensive defenseman who can move the puck and make things happen in transition and um and be better defensively because you’re getting the puck out of your own Zone

Which is what grizzli has been able to do for a long time he’s just been having a down year and we just can’t nobody can really argue that at this point um now Scott what is Charlie McAvoy not doing right now that when he’s playing on top of his game he is

Doing well I don’t think he’s been as involved offensively and I also it seems like defensively he’s been out of position like more than usual and has allowed like some gaps in the defensive Zone where again because the Bruns play zone defense like sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly who’s at fault

Like was there miscommunication did someone not pick someone up but it seems like he’s been around the puck or like near guys who have gotten golden scoring opportunities especially during the the losing streak where I thought honestly like I thought that was some of the worst Hocker we’ve seen from

Maville in a while and then I thought he was a little better against W against Buffalo on Wednesday but I still didn’t think that was like a great game for him and um I’m sure playing with different partners is part of it grizz’s been in

Out of the lineup and as we said like grizzli hasn’t been playing his best either you know lorai still learning and I think when he gets put with M they’re still learning each other and learning chemistry hamis lindholm’s gotten bumped up to play next to him a couple times

Like so I’m sure that’s part of it is there’s just things aren’t as settled as maybe he’s been used to over the last few years but if if you’re the number one defenseman you’re one of the five best defenser in the world which I think we

All believe McAvoy is when he’s on top of his game um you know it is on you to like find a way to make it work and I just think there’s been you know probably a handful of games now recently where it just doesn’t really seem to be working when

He’s on the ice like they are just they’re getting pinned in they’re giving up chances he’s not getting as many chances at the other end um I’m not I’m not super worried about him unless like we find out that you know that shoulder injury that he suffered right before

Christmas where he left the game and then quickly came back and it doesn’t it doesn’t seem like that’s anything to be concerned about he hasn’t missed any time um unless you find like like that’s lingering and affecting his play or something I’m not concerned big pitcher

Long term but right now I do think makavo is kind of in a bit of a rut and just not playing the way that we were used to seeing it play I thought he I thought he started the season really strong too like I thought I I I remember us talking early

On um that he and Pak had just been really excelling As Leaders as young Leaders with uh with with berson and CI moving on and Felino and other leaders um obviously Pak has continued to to produce at a at an all World level but um that’s also kind of concerning too

Because like you did see that that that high level of play earlier on this year yeah I mean and and to talk about Lura being in up and makoy you know maybe being a little bit of a Down they both have three goals this season makoy

Obviously has a lot more points I think he has like 16 assists or something like that on top of the three goals but you know he he can usually be looked at for a little bit more goal scoring production um I I I think he’s only kind

Of like a slightly down compared to you know some of the other people we’ve talked about this season um he hasn’t been playing his best but he hasn’t been playing terribly um and he’s also out there with Mason Lura now and you know pairs have been switched around with the

Different injuries that have been happening on the back end so yeah I don’t really have much more to add about makoy there was there was one play against Winnipeg too that just kind of stood out to me is it like makoy is he’s supposed to shut plays down and he’s

Supposed to shut plays down in his own end and create plays in the offensive zone um and it was a play against theet JS where it was they were in transition and he just kind of went for like a a a back door saucer pass floater to I

Forget who it was crashing the net zaka it was zaka Z crashing the net and like I get the I it’s it wasn’t the worst play in the world it in fact had it connected it would have been a pretty sick goal but it didn’t connect and it just

It was kind of a soft play it goes off the boards and then it goes the other way and the Jets like it was kind of a net Mount scramble and and even then mavo was like late getting back and it’s like well that turnover happens because

Of a pass that you misfired on and now you’re getting back kind of late and you’re getting out muscled it just it was just a a play that just kind of like showed me he’s just not playing uh to his standards right now and that that

That one play kind of was a microcosm a little bit of some of his recent play but and so I didn’t even look this up before I mentioned makavo as a down but while you guys were talking I just just picked a date December 1 and looked up mavo

Five on five numbers since then so he’s played seven games in the month of December um because he did miss a few with the other injury that he that he suffered um on that like hit to the face uh in the month of December in seven games Charlie mckoy

Has been on the ice for seven goals against F5 on five one goal for minus six at five on five worse worse on the team um and like if you if you pull back to like you know chance of shot attempts it’s it’s not that bad but like 47%

Cory 40 6% expected goals like those just aren’t Charlie mckoy numbers that’s when he’s playing is best the Bruins are dominant when he’s on the ice so um yeah it’s it’s always nice when when the numbers back up uh what I was already feeling yeah and it of course he had to

Go there it’s a you know he uses it as like this is why I’m right and you’re wrong uh but yeah uh no those those are are good numbers though Scott because it kind of illustrates why and how important makao play is to the team in terms of winning because it’s no

Coincidence that their winless streak comes be at the same time that Charlie makoy numbers aren’t as good as they normally are so um that’s definitely a big factor in it does anyone else have an up or down I think we got to most of ours right we good Scott looking at you

Nothing nothing nothing definitive but like like we kind of touched on zaka a little bit so you know having get sent to Wing he’s been a little quiet and then you know I I don’t think they’ve been the problem at all I think they’ve just been one of a bunch of players that

Kind of were amidst the slump but I also haven’t thought that Carlo and ly Holm have been particularly um Elite for their standards um certainly not during during the losing streak but again that to to pick on a couple of players over the course of a long you know four game

Losing streak is kind of unfair because everybody kind of a rope I was going to say I I agree during that losing streak I would also note I thought Wednesday was the best game hampus lolms played in a while I thought thought he looked really good Wednesday night in Buffalo

Um I don’t think he ended up with any points right he didn’t get anything no but he he helped create chances um I think you saw him start several transitions with with clean breakouts and you saw like you saw that skating that we saw you know when he first got

To Boston then early on last season we like he makes one move to get past the first four cheer and then just takes off and gets separation and um like that to me is like the sign of him being on top of his game is like pulling away from

Guys in transition and you saw that a few times Wednesday nights so he also he had like one totally dominant shift in the offensive zone where um he like de deed around a forward at one point he made a couple of really nice passes that L the scoring chances one was like a

Great I don’t even know how he saw the lane it was like a scam pass through through traffic to marshand um so yeah he would he would be an up for me just looking at Wednesday I agree with you that pairing also was not great during loser

Streak and you know what we could add to this it’s not who’s up Who’s down in terms of play but uh one last thing to talk about Georgie mov potentially coming up to Boston uh filling in as a center while ptra is away and potentially if they decide to keep zaka

At Wings Scott you have a little bit more on this you are at practice you kind of got a chance to talk to some people about this yeah well you know there have been some speculation I think that so pref Us by saying Georgie mov remains on fire in

Providence had another two points a goal and an assist Wednesday night he now has nine goals and seven assists in his last 16 games um he’s up to like either second or third in the Le in the AHL in scoring um there was the holiday roster freeze which ended at midnight early Thursday

Morning so there was some speculation that like he might get called up Thursday he didn’t um friend of the PO pod Mark aled uh tweet TW at me that he he thinks he’s still getting called up tomorrow Friday so that’s something for people to keep an eye on uh the Bruns practice at

11: a Friday so I guess we’ll see if if Merl’s there if they announced a call up before then um you know I I think let me check Twitter real quick guys because uh you know they like to right I was going to say you know they’re when they’re going

To announce it is 15 minutes after we log off um but no I you you could look at Wednesday night and be like all right well the team bounc back so do you really need a call up to me at this point it’s almost Beyond even like do

The Bruns need to call someone up and it’s I think Georgie M has just forced their hand like he’s playing so well that to me it just seems like almost crazy not to give him a chance especially during this period with Matt padrick gone to World Juniors like it’s it’s the

Perfect time to call him up and throw him at you know put him at third line Center and see how he does and if it turns into something longer than that awesome if there’s some areas where he struggles and you have to send them back down after a few games then then that’s

Fine too but like at least at least you rewarded this incredible heater that he’s on right now yeah this is the Bruins are far removed well I shouldn’t say far removed but uh they’re definitely removed from the days of of uh you know Savar berson CI up the

Middle or berson CI and Chris kellier Charlie coyer insert you know really really adequate third line Center here like the Bruins right now Center IED it’s it’s very it’s it’s very much not set in stone I mean we’re just we were just talking about Morgan geeki replacing Pavo zaka who’s your assigned

Number one Center at the start of the Year Charlie Coyle has spent time on the quote quote third line of times this year for Matt Potter who’s an 19-year-old rookie who’s now playing the World Juniors and it’s like this is there is opportunity to be had if the

Bruins aren’t stubborn to see who M who’s the best fit for for this team at Center Ace and and yes he has absolutely forced uh their hand in my opinion for that reason because of his own play and and the lack of certainty up on the on

The main roster and yeah Scott you mentioned I think he’s fourth in the league in scoring down in the AHL and I just think I like I said last week what’s the point of having a farm system if you’re not going to reward players that you feel as though can help you uh

And on your main club right now that have earned the opportunity and I think he’s earned the opportunity to get a look and so uh we’ll see we’ll see if it comes down yes in typical skatee pod fashion it probably won’t break until after like you said but um we we’ll

We’ll keep our ears to the ground yeah I mean the point Still Remains like if he’s up we we’re kind of already talking about what he could do and I’m thinking maybe you put him on the third line with like jvr melov Frederick line is that

Does that kind of seem like a good fit for him yeah yeah I was gonna say like J yeah with jvr and either either Frederick or Heinen I guess one of Frederick or hinen Pro probably gets dropped to the fourth line in this instance not that either one deserves it

Because I think I think those are two guys who have play pretty well recently but that said like I also think they need to find a way to get more offense from the fourth line anyway so dropping someone down is like that’s an added bonus to this is it makes you a deeper

Team if merkulov comes up and plays well and can handle a third line role um because I think as much as we like you know loo beer Steen or you know last night it was Patrick brown but like it’s a line that works hard but also Jacob

Blo has three points and zero goals in 23 games oscarin has one point in I think 19 games this season like the Bruins aren’t they don’t have enough high-end offensive talent to have a fourth line that doesn’t score at all so dropping someone like a Frederick or

High and down while it could be viewed as a promotion I mean a demotion um it also lengthens your lineup and maybe brings some needed offense to that fourth line and S I think like I think Johnny Beach is a big boy but Ste and Loco aren’t aren’t I

Mean they’re both pretty pretty short um nothing against short Kings but um Frederick I think would be a little bit a better a better option sizewise down there um in that situation I also think like you don’t want merca to be in the fourth line Bridget’s just shaking her

Head and disgust I can’t believe you just said short Kings on this podcast just I’m just you know wasn’t expecting it Brian you caught me off guard I I I I I heard the phrase recently I just had to go with it um but did you hear from

Pete Blackburn I feel I feel like he’s he’s the one who’s trademarked it I’m pretty sure he uses it like every other tweet so and also like every episode of of what chaos yeah um but also merula is a fourth is is not an optimal player for

The fourth line I kind of want to see him with some skill kind of want to see him with some skill Beyond Frederick honestly um but I can I could see why the first couple of games they it pris when he gets called up that they want to

Just throw on to the first line or the second line but you know if he were to play well on a third line role I I wouldn’t waste too much time before seeing what could he do with some higher in skill because again well iron a

Little bit you could see him on every line in the same game if Jim momery just decides to just go for it again so that’s true too that is very true absolutely um so I think we’re all in agreement here that like we’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t get an

Opportunity like what it’s the right time right like other than this time like obviously we don’t know about injuries in the future but this feels like the right time do you see them not like is there do can we see the BR I do see a situation where they they might

Not but I don’t even want to like get into that because like I have an intuition that before like Friday morning or or like before midday Friday we’ hear that he gets called up but like um I think that the only reason they wouldn’t call him up is because if they

Just think Frederick’s fine at Center we don’t want to you know we’re not trying to complicate things um but I think he deserves a call up that that’s not in the question at all yeah I also think like kind of where there smoke there there fire like Mark has good sources in

Providence and Rob chmer who’s at Ivan Ivan Ivan on Twitter like he tweeted something similar so and those guys are like they’re all over Providence in the prospects and I don’t I don’t think someone lied to them like you know I don’t think certainly don’t think they’re making it up so

I yeah I think it’s probably happening Friday but you know well we’ll see it’s not final until it actually does happen I’ll also note Montgomery was asked about melov and you know obviously wasn’t going to come on say like whether they’re calling him up or not but he did

Say that you know he texts with Ryan muel providence’s coach on a weekly basis and they kind of exchange notes on like you know how’s the who like who are the top forwards if we need someone or the top defenseman how are guys doing what are they improving you know what

What do they need to work on someone goes down it’s you know it’s mu Janelle asking hey you know what’s the message what do you want to see them work on and and Montgomery said like and we’ve heard this from other people that the most encouraging updates in amer love aren’t

Just the points it’s his he said like the way he’s closing on plays in the defensive Zone his 200 foot game and I think especially with Montgomery it’s like when you’re hearing that if you’re getting all those positive updates in addition to all the points that we can see

Like it that sounds like someone that’s about to be called up to me so I I think it’s gonna happen Friday but you know we’ll see yeah and there’s really only one other thing that I think we wanted to talk about guys and did you do you

Want to touch on ptra and World Juniors at all I mean there’s a little bit of news there it’s not it’s not a whole lot but um yeah feel like we should touch on it a little bit yeah I mean he has so he has two goals in two games now Canada beat

Finland six to2 I think bit of a Down year for Finland they’re not as strong as they usually are and then Canada just absolutely crushed lvia 10 nothing um both of Padre’s goals were kind of in garbage time one was an empty net one was the goal that made it 10 nothing so

Um I think he’s played well I I watched all of the first game against Finland and most of the the second game against lvia and um a little quieter against laia but he’s creating chances he’s had good chemistry with Matt seavoy who’s a a buffalo first round pick and has been

One of his Wingers most of the time um you know the big tests are going to be they play Sweden in the group stage Sweden another one of the favorit and then The Knockout round like that to me is going to be more telling these still kind of feel like warm-up games so

Far um you know for the top teams like I think just before we’re recording us on Thursday I think beat Switz on 11 to two like some of these games are just very lopsided like I I know some people like some people tweeted at me that they were

They didn’t love the fact that ptra only had one point against you know in a 10 nothing blowout win I just can’t get worked up over how he plays against lvia like I quite frankly just don’t really care about that um I want to see how he does in those bigger

Games to come how did he do against us in the in the um warm-up round I yeah he did score um yeah I missed that game to be completely honest I I was out that day but so I don’t have I don’t have like detailed notes but from what I

Understand like he’s played well I mean he’s been in Canada’s top six the whole time so um and they’re still they’ve kind of moved things around and they’re they’re pulling a good joke on everyone by listing M celebrini as their fourth line Center yeah I saw the best player

In the tournament so far so well it’s it’s you know he should be in their top six when you go down Canada’s roster and you see all these you know Q teams or you know a couple uh NCAA teams and then you see Matt Potter’s name and you see Boston NHL um

You know you probably should be um doing pretty well in this tournament so well I will say one of the things I noted that like doesn’t show up on the score sheet is that uh these kids are all like I mean I’m calling them kids because they’re still pretty young um sorry if

I’m not supposed to be calling them kids but to me they are um and so these guys are all really high draft picks and they a lot of them are shoot first and you kind of notice potra not getting chances on some of in in some of these situations because there have been

Several times where he was wide open like I’ve seen him go back door a few times he was open he doesn’t get the pass because the other player shoots like there I’ve noticed that it’s I don’t want to say selfish but everybody has such a great shot they if they see

An option to shoot they shoot they’re not making the pass so even though potra is going to the right areas sometimes he’s not getting the Puck um he’s had the puck on his stick less because uh and by the way these guys all have something to prove out of this too uh

They’re all trying to make the NHL they’re all drafted besides I’m celebrini obviously um so they all have their own little like thing to prove and and I I kind of started to notice that a lot of them are shoot first not pass first where Patra might be the other way

Around and that has led to him getting fewer scoring chances for sure yeah he had he set up Matt seavoy for like three or four just great a chances in the Finland game and and got one himself set up by seavoy um and just none of them went in finland’s goalie

Was was playing really well until like the dam finally broke a little but uh yeah I thought I thought he played really well in that game and and like I said maybe a little quiet against laia but I just that was I mean that was a

Scrimmage like yeah and it was just way better and by the way they run the score up for a reason it’s not they’re not just being mean like they run the score up because it does sometimes affect the tiebreakers so like the the better your you know your goal scored is you’re you

Might be a team that you’re head-to-head with so they’re they’re blowing up the score sheet because it does turn out to matter sometimes so so it’s not just like being mean like stop eating up on laia you you have to do it yeah no I mean look ultimately Patra has he has

Found the back the net a couple times whether it’s you know pre-tournament empty net garbage time whatever he’s seen the puck go in um hopefully that continues the only the only way that Bruins lose this experiment of Sting him down to the World Juniors is as I said

In the past if he would to get hurt um or if he just goes down and for whatever reason his confidence doesn’t increase because he’s not scoring and he’s snake bitten down a world Juniors then you’re going to go up to the NHL and you know

Be a top two center it’s like you got to it’s you have to you have to kind of produce so um you know they’re betting on him to do so he’s going to do so he has been but he hasn’t probably been dominating um maybe just yet but there’s

There’s much tournament to go so definitely worth keeping an eye on and yeah and and you know for for us Americans like the US team is the betting favorite and um they’re expecting for anyone who likes Boston College just you know right you’re GNA

Get a good chance to see a lot of guys from BC so and um and uh what’s his name oh Christ the be defenseman Lane hson yeah Lane hson he’s got a little bit of kale mcaren him the way he kind of just yeah in is kind of that north south player

Yeah the overtime winner he scored in that exhibition game against Canada was filthy like just goes down to the ice to to take away steal the puck and then just like tow drags it to the front and Snipes top Corner Brian don’t get Scott going about a be player like don’t say

Don’t bring one up and then just be like podcast do you want to know how I can get Scott to stop talking about a be player When you mention that it’s a future Montreal Canadians player true yeah I think there there’s going to be a lot of teams that are going to be

Wondering why they didn’t draft Lane Hudson in the first round he fell fell until late second to Montreal and uh yeah that’s that’s insane I mean it’s because of his height if he was two inches taller he would have been a top 15 pick I mean I get

It short defenseman are out no one wants short defense short Kings short yeah when when they’re as talented as Lane Hudson I I don’t know I think he’s gonna be just he’s going to be just fine in the n yeah he’ll be fine he’ll he’s he’s going

To be good he was a steal in the second round that’s for sure so anyway that’s enough about be Lane Hudson that’s probably enough about anything this this episode yeah I agree I’m one other quick thing I was gonna say on World Juniors um another Bruins Prospect Dan Lush mellis is lvus Captain

In first line Center um which is you know great for him Unfortunately they he and they had zero chance against Canada but you know are you g you going to tell people where he goes to school uh where’s that Bridget you ammer indeed yes yes so there we go got that

You starting to play better like right before break too he got a delayed St because there were eligibility issues which I could I could go on about that because I think the NCA is very silly when it comes to this stuff but um yeah like he missed like the first several

Weeks of the season um but had a few points right before break so you know another guy who could use World Juniors to kind of springboard into the second half is uh have have be and BC played each other this year in uh not yet they have they have three games against each

Other in like a two week span uh the end of January and then the first round of the beanock yeah because I was gonna say yeah they’re one and two in the country right now aren’t they yep that’s that’s gonna be an awesome two week stretch I

Know what we could do we could go to the bean pot together that’s how I can give you guys your Christmas gifts you can all go to the bean pot perfect very good um all right so I guess yeah so we’ll we’ll be dropping this on Friday morning

Correct yeah I think so yeah okay so then all right so yeah well thank you all for listening enjoy your weekend any final any final announcements Scott you look happy happy New Year we want I don’t think we’ll be dropping a another episode before New Year so that’s right

How silly is they forget that I don’t know between Christmas and New Year’s like does anybody know what day it is it it all just Blends together it’s just it’s just like holiday two weeks like yeah yeah exactly that thanks for pointing I’m in the office today and

Literally the only other two people here are Mike cick and Andy hardt who are filling in on the afternoon show I have not seen another person like not another body no nobody’s there no yeah that’s a good point yeah I hope you all have a wonderful uh hope you guys can everybody

Can reflect on 2023 and then of course have a happy New Year and look forward to 2024 um but yes so thank you all for listening and we will talk to you very soon hey guys thanks for watching the gate podcast if you want to see more of

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Discussing the improvements the Bruins made after Christmas break that lead to their win over Buffalo. Three players who are trending up and three who are down since the break. Updates on Matt Poitras and Georgii Merkulov.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheSkatePod | @bridgetteproulx | @smclaughlin9 | @briandefelice_ | Email us at skatepod@weei.com |

Leave your questions in the comments and we will answer as many as we can!

Jump to:
00:00 – Bruins bounce back with win over Buffalo
20:00 – Should Zacha remain a winger?
29:00 – Who’s up, who’s down?
54:00 – Where would Merkulov fit into the Bruins’ lineup?
63:00 – An update on Poitras performance at World Juniors
Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig – USA TODAY Sports

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