Bruins’ Stars Outshine Avs’ Star Power in Win | The Skate Pod, Ep. 266

Bruins’ Stars Outshine Avs’ Star Power in Win | The Skate Pod, Ep. 266

Welcome into episode 266 of the skate podcast on Brian D fiz joined by Bridget PR and Scott mlin the Bruins with an impressive win over the Colorado Avalanche last night at the Garden a team that you know many predict to be among the final contestants in the Western Conference uh Bridget Scott opening

Shifts uh that was just an extremely entertaining hockey game that’s you know I think what we all love to watch his fans right right from literally right from puck drop when you see the starting lineups where the Avalanche go with Nathan McKinnon Miko randin Jonathan druin Kel marar Devon Taves as their

Starting five and Jim Montgomery is like all right here’s what I’ve got David poso Brad Martian Charlie Coyle Charlie maville hamis lindle and that stayed really the main matchup almost all game there was a little bit of a stretch on the second period where Montgomery flipped ponak and de Brusque

And uh de bruss got out there against that McKinnon line but that you had Star on Star pretty much all night and ultimately the the Bruins win that match up David Pak has a hattrick McKinnon did score that actually came when he got on during a line change uh away from the

Bruins top guys but entertaining hockey star power all over the place um and you know Jim Montgomery Shi away from calling it a statement win after the game he he downplayed it a little bit but I’ll call it a statement win I think that was uh that was a big one for the

Bruins to show like yeah we can go up against one of the most high-powered offenses in the league Avalanche number two offense in the NHL and we we can play that game we can go St on Star and we can win my opening shift has to do with Jake

De Brusque who we had a chance to talk to after the game um on Thursday and also coach talked a little bit about him as well after the game he had a goal and an assist um one of his better games you could just watch him on the ice even

Though like Scott mentioned lines have been changed a little bit um to where they were even on the road trip so he’s playing in a little bit of a different situation um not with Marshon in Thursday’s game but um able to put that goal in which I thought was going to get

Called back actually I thought that was the one where zaka was like a millimeter on side right so um that was a close one uh but anyway he gets the goal and it was a nice play either way um whether it would have counted or not um but it did

Luckily for the Bruins uh and the assist on pono’s second goal and when we talked to Montgomery after the game he said um it seems like every game is his best game in the second half of the season and since December 30th which you know little less than a month ago he’s had

Six of his 10 goals so he really has turned it on um if you want to call that the second half like after Christmas um second half yeah he’s really picked it up yeah he’s been so much better and it’s it’s not just because of the

Scoring like and and I know um I know there were a lot of analytics probably tell tell me that he’s been playing well all year outside of the scoring but there was just some significant like hard back checks yesterday in particular and maybe he was doing that earlier in

The year but it just wasn’t for some reason it wasn’t jumping off the page to me last night it was so I don’t know um I just think he’s been playing really well when we talked to him he said that’s the worst you’re gonna see from me meaning that stretch when people were

Kind of getting on him and like he kind of acknowledged it but I don’t know he was that’s the thing like people don’t really understand about him he at least was trying to be like reflective and accountable of not producing in that time frame and he’s not the kind of Diva

That people say he is he’s really not he he go like after in postgame he’s very he usually is pretty reflective give doesn’t give you a a non-answer and he he I don’t know I I hope people have come around on him at this point because

I don’t see a reason for them to be as hard as they I did it at the time when he wanted to trade but we’re past that and I feel like people have changed their opinion a little bit at this point I I definitely want to Circle back to

The brus because I have more thoughts on him too but I would say like even that what you’re talking about Bridget has changed because I do think earlier in his career at times like I mean look he went almost three quarters of a season after the trade request without even

Talking to Media like he just straight up avoided us and while I don’t think that the biggest deal in the world I did think it was a sign of a little bit of immaturity and I do think like even earlier this season you’re right like he was accountable he answered questions

About it um he was pretty transparent and I think that’s another area where he’s just grown and matured yeah and it’s you guys obviously being in the locker room you guys know you talk to him but for for most fans out there they only see they only see

What the Bruins put out on their website or on Twitter as far as like player interactions post game and they just were kind of shying away from posting de Brusque so while you guys had access to him the common fan didn’t really have access to him during during his

Struggles this year and that kind of Also may have been why like your people pile up because they aren they’re seeing him not perform but they’re not hearing you guys are hearing from him but most people aren’t able to unless you’re just like reading you know um every newspaper

In town every after every game but um so for me uh Park Parker wspoon has been and I just want to say I want so bad for his name to be Witherspoon because it’s just a little bit nicer to say you and Jim Montgomery both yeah Parker Parker Witherspoon just

Is so much easier to say than wspoon the the elongated o but Parker wspoon has caught in the eye of Bruins fans and for no other reason than he’s just playing really solid um surprising hockey like going into the season no nobody I I don’t want to say nobody but most people

Didn’t know who he was um and you know to be fair to those people myself included he he only has he’s played 17 games for the Bruins this year and he has 29 career NHL games so heading into the season he didn’t have many games at

All under his belt he’s a plus three um he’s just a steady uh lowrisk blue collar left shot defenseman on the third pan and you know you kind of contrast him with how people are just upset with I mean again I I didn’t think last night

Was a great night for grizzli um he just kind of seems like he’s just not where he used to be mentally physically I don’t know it’s just he he seems he seems um he’s struggling obviously but weather or wspoon he’s like he’s like that steady third pair guy that every

Team kind of wants and it’s what the Bruins Envision forb being but I just think people like him better than forbert um at least right now like I think he should get a continued look I think a lot of people feel the same way yeah he’s he’s definitely playing

Well and it’s we talked a little bit about how you know Brandon Carlos is getting close to returning JK forer’s practicing again still on ltir we’re not sure exactly when he’ll be activated but the the Bruins do have decisions to make on defense coming up and right now it

Would be really difficult a to send wetherspoon down B to even take him out of the lineup like and even just have him as a seventh defenseman he is clearly playing like one of their I don’t know what four best defensemen right now so uh he’s he’s moved up and

Down the lineup a little bit he’s got flipped left right side um seems to compliment pretty much anyone he’s been with so you know I I think I think grizzli had actually been playing pretty well recently I I do think Thursday was a little bit of a Down game for him but

Um you know maybe he’s not quite back to like Peak grizzli from years past but I do think I’ve seen improvement from you know say pre Christmas when he was really pretty consistently struggling um so yeah it’s gonna be tough because you know I don’t I don’t

Think there’s a trade imminent now you know maybe they’ll surprise us but there’s going to be a lot of bodies back there pretty quickly um you know Mason Laura is the one who he can go down to Providence with no waivers or anything like that’s a quote unquote easy move

But I thought Lori Lori had a really strong game Thursday too like I think you see his confidence growing and him making some good breakouts skating with the puck in transition uh getting involved in the offensive zone and it’s like I don’t know that anyone really

Deserves to come out of the lineup or be sent down right now but someone’s going to have to yeah it’s not like they’re just not going to put Bren and Carlo back in um Derek forber still a little bit further off but um then we kind of

Talked about that last episode but uh Brian you want to hear something else funny about uh wether spoon you said his last name’s hard to say well some people in Boston would say his first name’s hard to say because it it’s like Paca right so uh one of the reporters who has

A very thick Boston accent asked Jake Z Brusque what he thought thought of Paca and he goes what and then he’s like Paca and he’s like I don’t know what you’re saying and he’s like Paca what the spoon he’s like I should know the accent by now like I should know the Boston

Accent that is a tough that is a tough name to say for for those with a severe Boston accent because you have because you go you’re going pacawa pacawa spoon yeah it’s not easy it’s and and I heard it uh in that full Boston accent last

Night and Jake was so confused for a second I I don’t know if they aired it or they have it on the website but it was the last question and it’s pretty funny to listen to I was going to say I I wasn’t I wasn’t in this scrum I was

Elsewhere was this Conor Ryan or or somewhere no it wasn’t Conor Ryan accent s sidebar Conor’s selfie me me and Ty s sidebar can uh can can can we get some clarity if not right now maybe maybe later on just like like the Boston accent in general it

Just skips towns it’s like you have like like Malden has it like doorchester has it bill rck has it Watertown doesn’t well not Watertown does but like it’s like random every other town it’s like Boston accent no accent it’s like what can can you explain that to me I don’t get

It I think there’s like a wealth thing like I I think like upper middle class and higher tends to not have it the is just my theory I don’t really have any empirical evidence other than where I live I live in southern mass and we have

Like a combo of like a Boston and a Rhode Island accent which is even more confusing you guys should listen to my dad talk well what’s what’s what’s funny is um what’s funny is yes that that that accent is is is a horse of a different

Color but what what’s what blows my mind and I’m gonna get some people upset here but like LEL and Bill Raa are literally 10 to 15 miles north of the New Hampshire border but they but you would think that they were underneath the TD Garden that one makes no sense to me you

Know but I’ll get some people pissed off with that one but that I know IA now lives in LOL right but I I grew up in yeah but it’s like everyone everyone moved out here from the city like 50 years ago and then just never lost the

Accent so right I’ll I’ll get this back on the rails to wspoon after one final comment about um bostonthe Boston Rhode Island accent my dad he’ll go beer and bear are the opposite words so he’ll go Bridget there’s a beer in the backyard and I’m like why are you freaking out

About a beer in the backyard and I walk out and there’s a black bear and I’m like okay and then he’ll like bridg can you get me a bear and I’m like okay he means beer um anyway that’s that’s a fun one uh but anyway I’ll get us back on

The rails here to uh Parker Paca Weatherspoon who has now played almost as many games with Boston as he has in Providence this season he has 19 games with the Providence Bruins and 17 games with the Boston Bruins so he’s he’s only two games away from being even and I

Feel like he’s oh Brian’s Frozen yeah people in people watching on YouTube are getting a great shot of just Frozen smiling Bri Le see like Frozen the best possible like face he’s like smiling right at the camera usually it’s like one eye open and the other one like

Rolled back in your head like um but yeah so he’s he’s been with the team for a while now um and he seems to have made a case for himself to stick around uh we’re having more technical difficulties today but uh T is there anything else you wanted to say Scott about Parker

Weather spoon while we try to get Brian back uh no not really obviously just highlight you know the assist on on deus’s goal which was just a real simple shot clearly looking for a deflection uh and got it and again that’s you know I think Montgomery’s talked about this how

He said like even going back to the summer when he first met Weatherspoon via phone call after he signed he said you know what stood out was just how much wetherspoon understood his own game like he told Montgomery you know here here’s what I do well years areas that

Aren’t a strong suit for me um and was just like very in tune with what his game is what his style of play is what he can and can’t do and he goes out on the ice and and just does that like he

He he knows what he can do he does it he knows what he can’t do so he doesn’t try to do it and so someone asked him who do you model your game after and he said Duncan Keith was one of the guys he looked up to growing up obviously Duncan

Keith’s probably somewhat a lot of defenseman in this generation looked up to um because at at that time the Blackhawks were so good and he was you know one of the best defenseman in the league at the time so that’s it kind of makes sense I mean he’s more of a a

Stayback defenseman he said um because him and de brus played against each other what league was it it was before obviously well before they were in the NHL they played against each other and he said uh wman said every defenseman in that League thinks that they’re an

Offensive defenseman but I had to change my the way I played because in the NHL it’s not that way not everybody gets to be an offensive defenseman yeah and that’s that’s like one of the toughest things for young players to kind of learn and accept it’s the same thing with forwards right like

Johnny beer was a first round pick who thought you know I’m gonna score at every level and at some point has to come to the realization that while yes you’re always working to score more like you’re ultimately going to cut your career as a pro doing something else like your defense faceoffs penalty

Killing physicality that’s going to have to be your strength and young players who learn that and are willing to put the effort into that side of the game like you’re you’re GNA set yourself up better for a long career than the guy than the kid who just thinks he’s always

Going to score he’s always going to be an offensive defenseman and refuses to adapt or accept any sort of different rule so I saw that you were interacting with people on on Twitter recently about wspoon and you were pretty much saying like yeah he’s playing well um not sure

He’s a long-term fixture in Boston do you still feel that way and if so what why do you why do you feel that way necessarily no I would say that’s definitely changing because because he just keeps playing well game after game so right now my my opinion would be it

Would be really hard to send him down andd be really hard to keep him out of the lineup um well this ties into the conversation we had we got a a mailbag question about this which free agents are the Bruins not as likely like which ones are least likely to come back and

Scott said maybe even all three defenseman that are free agents uh which is shaton Kirk grizzli and forbert he could see the Bruins letting them go and then if that’s the case then wspoon has a role here next season and you may see him get a new contract you may see him

Fill in that forberg Gap um for a cheaper price so you you get a similar thing forbert leaves um or you know if any two or one or two or three of the free agent defenseman leave you at least kind of have this idea that he could be

One of the guys to fill in and and Laura as well yeah and like I I also don’t think I don’t necessarily think wspoon needs to be an everyday player like he’s not you know he’s not like a 22y old kid who’s still developing and therefore he

Needs to play every night somewhere um like I think he can be the kind of defensive who’s maybe in and out if he sits three games in a row it’s not really gonna affect him like I think he can get back in and play his game

Because you know it it is a little bit of a simplified game like that’s you know he probably does have to be in every single night to to keep that up so he’s sort of you know emerging as like that perfect kind of Swing defenseman like

Six seventh on the depth chart in out can kind of fill in anywhere yeah I when I when I was talking long term I was I was more so talking Beyond this year too right like if he keeps this up I mean you know third third pair defenseman like they

They can surprise you I mean the the Bruins had a you know four or fiveyear stretch of of Championship caliber hockey and Adam McQuade was a staple on their third pair and I don’t think many people Envision you know who Adam mid was before he all of a sudden was a fan

Favorite it just sometimes organically you find the right players he made the one he is a 100 may may maybe maybe uh for their 200th season maybe Parker wspoon is a is a top top 100 player 200 player hey maybe maybe I’ll see him today because sometimes he goes to the

PC men’s games and because they have two guys that are draft eligible I don’t know I see him around different rinks because he’s part of like recruiting and develop developing Talent so sometimes he’s just at rinks and I I see him other places um okay yeah so definitely a

Great development with with W spoon um Paca W spoon yeah and and one last thing I would just note on him like defenseman do T like you do see more late bloomers on defense and up front and you know as an example I would think of Kevin Miller as someone who you know

Didn’t even make his NHL debut until he was 26 years old and ends up establishing himself as a third pairing regular like you know I think he had what two or three full seasons in Providence before he came up he was an older college grad out of Vermont like

It it can happen so um you know there sort of a model that wspoon might follow Parker is 26 and he’s of course he’s a August birthday great guy very close to my birthday but um yeah so he is 26 right now um so look Scott to your opening

Shift about the star power last night David passion that kind of put on display right away yeah that just a great first shift from the Bruins starting five uh got right into the offensive zone pressure on couple early shots shot on goal and then just as it looks like the ABS you

Know finally have control about 40 seconds in ma gets the puck on his stick you think he’s gonna clear it out everyone’s gonna go off for a change Charlie coo makes a great poke check just reaches out steals it from ma goes right to Pak who turns and roofs it um

That was an insane shot I I said to Scott’s like how the hell did he do that watching it live in full speed it was like what just happened that was insane yeah and it was it was in and out so fast the ref actually ruled no goal

First and then quickly like changed and was like oh no that did go in but yeah that that shift really kind of set the tone for the night where the Bruins got the upper hand early the you know the AFS certainly made a push back in the second period they had a really

Good second period 16 shots on goal and then the Bruins just collectively as a team shut everything down in the third only gave up four shot shots on goal which you know for a team that early in the season had some trouble kind of closing out games with a one-goal

Lead really encouraging sign they’ve been getting better at that and now to slam the door shut like that on one of the best offenses in the league um really encouraging and and yeah just just in general to see the Bruin Stars kind of embrace that matchup

Like Pak said after the game that’s you know that that’s fun when you’re out there in those matchups he he did say you know McKinnon’s uh kind of a different beast and you wouldn’t be upset if you you don’t get that matchup but nonetheless like those guys clear and bracing Coyle

Talked about taking pride in that matchup and I thought this was a big game for Coyle too because he’s the guy sort of in that group that you know wouldn’t have been in a kind of star OnStar matchup last year and now he is he’s the one centering Martian impost

And he more than held his own out there with and against all those guys last night he has like I said the steal from ma car on the first goal he has a steal from McKinnon on poso empty neter so very strong game for him noticeable at

Both ends yeah it’s this kind of time where I like to remind the people who argued with me back in 2019 that it was stupid to trade uh for Charlie Coyle that they were very Ryan Den we can’t get rid of Ryan denado this is crazy I was like you guys are

Crazy Charlie Coyle is way better um and as of right now he’s your number one Center so I’m gonna take a Victory lap every time he does this my friends that said oh we don’t want him uh he’s been great and his contract I know people were complaining about his contract a

Few years back they said you know he’s he’s a third line Center he shouldn’t be making this much money well look where he is now um and you know he he hasn’t had the ability to move higher up in the lineup because berson and Cat were there most of the time he

Was here I know there has been other opportunities that they threw him up there and it didn’t stick at first but now that he’s had an extended period of time being a top six center he looks like he has the confidence and skill of a top six center so I mean Coy’s been

Great and and certainly a top six sender um I I I think if anybody was to merge is like the number one Center this year we probably would have said maybe Zach over Coyle just because if we thought he had a higher offensive ceiling but Coyle has been outperforming offensively too

Um you I I still think like you know the number the numbers may say l otherwise that he could be a low-end true number one Center but uh this year but he he’s still not a true number one Center and and I still think it’s like you still have to question

Like can this Bruns team accomplish what they want to if if Charlie Coyle is like their number one Center even though he’s playing like a number one Center but I think you guys understand what I’m saying like to match up against McKinnon uh in a seven game series would be a

Different animal though I will say like he did well in the one game sample he he did and and and like and that’s exactly why it’s like you know this is not to discredit him it’s just like kind of a real conversation um but like the Bruins in general like you watched the

Avalanche last night and you watch them against every other team in the league or most teams in the league and it’s like like you watch them against the Maple Leafs right and Ma and McKinnon are doing whatever they want out there um for years now the Bruins have had

This structure regardless of what players filter in and out of the lineup um and often on the roster like Star players in the NHL just like they don’t have they never have their way with the Bruins like the Bruins always make it hard on them and I don’t want to say

They make them look pedestrian out there but like you know they’ll go most of an entire hockey game and and you can just tell that like it’s not as easy against the Bruins as it is against other teams for these star players to do their thing and yeah here and near they break

Through because they’re Elite but I think that’s a good sign for the Bruins as a team in general yeah there’s only been a few games I can think of that that all of a sudden it’s it’s like ugly early against the Bruins it’s like five nothing like

There’s only a few games in the last several seasons I can think of like there was one Carolina game uh that they just I think they lost like six to one and it was kind of ugly um but at least uh I think Clifton fought D’Angelo so

That made that made up for some of it for some of the crappy uh offense but Scott you were definitely looking something up just up just now yeah so I was I was trying to look up where coil ranks among centers and scoring this season and filtering through nhl.com

Because they label some guys as centers who aren’t actually centers but it looks like Charlie Cole currently ranks 32nd among centers and points so that’s not even like a on a per game basis or filtering five on five or anything just total points so yeah I guess to to what

Brian said like 32nd would be lowend number one Center that would be still your F that that’s still one there’s 32 teams that’s still your number one guy um yeah because no one else is higher than NE on the Bruins so yeah and I guess you know obviously the obvious

Question or followup would be like to be a true cup Contender do you you need better than that from from your number one Center um I guess you know I guess we’re GNA see because I I spoiler I don’t think the Bruins are gonna add a true number one center before this trade

Deadline but um maybe they’ll surprise us did you guys want to talk about de Brusque a little bit and then go to our ups and downs for the week because I know we all still had a little bit left to say about de Brusque um which by the

Way in this scrum he came out with um stitches in his jaw like in his chin and so he had a few stitches he said he accidentally lifted someone’s stick into his face and he said I should have yard sailed and pretended I got high stick by

The guy who’s kidding obviously um and by the way they would they don’t call that anymore like if you if you’re responsible for the stick hitting you in the face don’t they they usually say that’s not a high stick right by definition it shouldn’t be yeah sometimes they fall for it and call

It anyways because they’re not at exactly that’s true we had a whole thing about this as well but yeah he came out he said this Stitch just hurt a lot um and so he had like two or three stitches in his in his jaw so he he got that in

The first period as well so he played with that for the rest of the game but uh that’s just an aside because I didn’t know if anyone else saw that he had that happened to him um and I obviously anytime I see someone get hit in the

Face I’m like Ah that’s you know and he still played so um what hockey players do so Scott you said you still had more to say about debras and the maturity that you’ve seen from him yeah well what one of the things that really stood out to me postgame was

When he was talking about you know getting going putting up points now versus early in the season and he said that he knew he was going to get out of it and he said in the past that might not have been the case in the past he

Would he would slump and he’d wonder how am I going to get going how am I gonna turn this around and he said even earlier this early this season even though the points weren’t there he knew that he could do it and he knew that he

Could get out of it and get on track and um you know sometimes that’s that’s obviously easy to easier to say when you come out on the other side you can look back and say oh you know I knew I was going to be fine but I think even

Talking to him early this season like you could kind of hear that even at the time where it was you know he he was certainly frustrated he admitted to being frustrated but he also said like he thought he was playing pretty well he thought he was doing the right things he

Felt like it was coming for him um I do remember there was one time where he said he was a little concerned because he felt like he hadn’t been getting as many chances recently and I think any any scorer will tell you like that’s when you do actually get

Concerned is when you’re not even getting chances um but there were stretches in there where he was getting chances and not burying them um you know we talked about it though and I think the biggest change is just how much more he’s going to scoring areas how much

More he’s getting to the net front how aggressive he’s being uh driving to the net getting pucks to the net which was lacking a little bit at times early this year so uh but that all kind of ties together right like it’s all confidence

It’s you know you tend to go to the net more when you’re confident that that you can get there and that you’re going to get rewarded when you do get there whereas when you’re you’re lacking confidence maybe you defer more and instead of driving to the net yourself

You pull up and you look around at your options and hope someone else drives to the net like that it it it can all kind of come together but it just he looks like a player that’s just so much more confident right now and I you know getting finally getting points it it

Really all ties together with him yeah and you know you you just said it all right there and confidence is key which which I knew all along and that’s why it’s like to get confidence it’s a catch 22 because to get confidence you got to

Find the score sheet but I feel like and I felt at the time it’s like you just go like go to those dirty areas and you will find a score sheet and then the confidence will come it was for me it was like where’s the reluctance to to to

To do those those things consistently because if you do it consistently a puck will go off your [ __ ] and Pat it in and then there you go and and and but any in any event eventually he found it and and now he’s now he’s going and um again

This is why like when he’s not playing when he’s not producing and he’s not playing with um all that he I think can even though the analytics will say that he is playing well I I think there’s all there’s still more he can bring because he’s he’s a really good player when he

Wants to be um like you you won’t you won’t you’ll never hear me get on Jacob Loko who isn’t scoring which by the way he got his first goal last night because I don’t expect it out of him I expect it out of De brusin and you know to be

Consistent I’m applauding him now because he’s playing the way that he’s capable of and that’s why when he’s not play also call it up I just muted myself again because Jake’s probably my computer but yeah so I was doing some math yesterday as well and loo so Loo’s

Played 73% played in 73% of the Bruins games this season he’s played quite a few um more more so than in the past obviously and Lura has actually played 61% in 61% of the Bruins games so he’s played more games in Boston than he has

In Prov this year so if in case people were kind of losing track of where these guys are at um in terms of how much playing time they’re getting or how many games they’ve been involved in those guys are are both higher percentage I’m sure than people might have thought but

You can see the games mounting Lao it’s funny because in the past Lao was kind of an up and down guy but this year he hasn’t been um like he was having transactions and going back to Providence and coming back to Boston and this year he’s stck around and he played

On the third line on Thursday night and yeah he scored real pretty early too um and very excited about that but then he’s he didn’t get that much playing time after that his minutes were still pretty low um what um because because you’re talking about Loco and his goal

It’s my mind just jumped and I don’t I don’t think he’s necessarily going to be on our who’s up Who’s down but Morgan geeky is playing some really strong hockey like his Puck possession and his effort level is like should be really applauded because I don’t know if you

Guys picked up on that either last night but it was it was very evident last night like nobody takes a puck off a stick in the offensive zone and he and he knows how to use his size and I just want to give him a a shut out because

Also his his foot speed seems to have been getting better too and maybe that’s just like knowing the systems more or getting more confident in in a new team but my knock on him earlier in the year was like yeah he’s he’s a big body he protects the puck well he’s kind of

Smart but he doesn’t seem like he’s the quickest player but he’s a powerful skater and I wasn’t giving him that credit earlier on and I want to give it to him now yeah he geeky had one especially awesome shift last night where he had like multiple plays of just

Holding on to the puck protecting it under pressure and then making like good passes back to the point leading to to shots um and I I think I tweeted at the time but like I immediately thought I was like that looks like someone who’s learning from Charlie Coyle like it was

It was coiles puug protection um and they’re they’re similar like they’re both big and they both are really hard to take the puck away from yeah before we run through more who’s up Who’s down I I did want to follow up on debrusk and ask you guys a question um does it at

All change how you feel about like the possibility of trading him because when when we were talking about like you know we’ve got mail Bay questions about do you trade de brush should they whatever and my take for a while was like well you can’t trade him while he’s slumping

You can’t trade him when his value is at its lowest well now he has some value again do you look at it and think hey he’s playing well he’s helping the Bruins win I’m not even thinking about trading him or is there a part of you

That thinks like maybe cash in while his value is on the upswing no I’m I still keep the same opinion that you’re better off with him this season um now that he’s actually producing like a top six uh Winger you and you need we already said you’re probably missing

Another top six forward why would you trade one out like I it doesn’t to me it doesn’t make sense that he’d be moved at this deadline either for either reason um you know his value may have gone up sure but if your end goal is to extend

Him and resign him then I mean which I think it is then keep him he makes your team better in the playoffs if he’s playing like this so why why would you try to why would you want to get rid of someone if if they’re playing like this

Um then they could do this in the playoffs I know Brian you you look like you maybe have a different opinion but no I I I haven’t changed I think he’s with the team through the end of the season I don’t think he’s getting traded

No my my honest answer is I I have no interest in trading him if he’s playing like this and I mean unless unless there was a trade where Scott as you’ve put it in the past it’s a clear upgrade but my question is who is trading a clear

Upgrade for like who who would who would who would knowingly want to lose like you know what I mean so um yeah it’s like a I don’t necessarily know that de brus could get you what you yeah yeah no my answer is no my answer is no I’m not

Interested in trading him um this year because because you just said it you do need the top six talent and there’s always the possib the what’s annoying about de brusk is when he’s even when he’s slumping I’m always kind of on off fense about it because it’s like well he

Can like he can produce at that level he’s go you think he’s going to at some point right um but to answer your question no I’m I’m I’m I’m good with him for now Scott did you change your mind about it or no I’m still have the

Same opinion which is if he’s playing like this I want to keep him um but if if he were part of a trade for a clear upgrade whoever that might be and obviously it would have to be a package it’s not going to be a one for one deal

But you know I’m just thinking like it say the Bruins end up being players for like an Elias Lind home money has to get moved out somewhere as part of that trade so it’s like would Calgary be interested in De Brusque as part of that package now that said I don’t know that

I even like that trade because Elias lindol is not having a great season and maybe a change of scenery helps and gets him going but I I don’t actually know that that’s even like a clear clear upgrade right now with the way that the two two players are playing the the only

Way to like make things interesting and again I’m not I’m just talking I’m not even like doing a numbers crunch here like but if there’s a package involving like grizzli and de Brusque like or something like that I’m sure there could be some enticing proposals you could send my way um if

Money made sense and whatnot but yeah I mean short of short of that it’s like it’s tough to just speculate you know so for UPS like we can we can run down our list so many more UPS uh this week because they’ve won three straight and they’ve they’ve been play besides

The second period that second period was not that great um mostly though they looked good on Thursday and so we’ve kind of already gone through some geeky you mentioned Brian debrusk weather spoon um just do you guys quickly want to list off any of the other ups that

Are like obvious I mean obviously poer knock with a hattick um and then we can get to there weren’t many downs but we do have at least one well somebody who I uh this is going to be quick for me but man I’m just I’m just 180 in recently

But somebody else that I’m I think is playing good hockey right now is lolm think he’s playing good hockey yeah he’s looking like he’s looking like the lolm that like the Bruins got originally and the way he played for the first you know year and a half like that he wasn’t

Playing that way earlier this year and I don’t care what anybody forgot I had this forgot I had this graphic this is line changes yeah this is supposed to be for when we changed our opinion about something and Brian is this is this the inaugural line

Change usage maybe I don’t know I made this a while ago never I was gonna say I didn’t even know what this was I mean look the way the way I’m talking today if I would to start a hockey team I would start with Jake debrus and hampus lolm yeah okay

Yeah I was I was goingon to highlight Lind Holm too but also just that pairing of him and Charlie mckoy together um I think both were excellent Thursday against Colorado in about as tough of of a matchup as you can possibly get in an NHL game um they both played over 10

Minutes against McKinnon at five on five and they were both a plus two and lindol also had a nice assist on on loa’s goal he pinches down the wall and all in one motion collects the puck and hits geeky on the doorstep and really could have

Been a chance that geeky buried he kind of briefly fumbled it and then slid it back across the crease for loo um but yeah I thought thought he had a really strong game as did makoy there makoy is a plus five during this three- game winning streak Lind a plus

Four um so yeah just another very obvious one Jeremy Swan got his fourth straight start third straight win um you know had to make some real high quality saves especially in that second period as Colorado tried to come back so he just keeps rolling lenus alar was back

As the backup on Thursday I would guess allmark starts Saturday um but swan has certainly made the most of this extended stretch as as the starter and to Circle back to two guys from our last who’s up Who’s down last week what do you guys

Think of Bist who we had as an up previously and jvr who we said was a little bit quiet um do you think he’s he’s moved in the right direction Scott do you have an opinion on jvr yeah I think he’s played well recently and he

Was you know he was a down as much as anything because he was a little bit in and out of the lineup he’ been dealing with kind of that nagging injury whatever whatever it was um and then they got put on the fourth line at one

Point because I think they were kind of managing his minutes but now he’s up until the top six he’s he was playing with Zach and de Brusque on the second line and yeah I think I think he’s playing better you know he’s got two assists Rec recently he’s made some

Really great plays Around the Net front um especially in the power play he’s he’s back on top power play unit which I think I said said I don’t know two episodes ago that you know I wanted to see him back in that top unit at some

Point and you have and I think it’s paid off Brian I think you muted oh I’m sorry I’m sorry I was just gonna MIM the rest of the episode um he he also had a goal against the Devils that was called back due to I think a prior off sides but it

Didn’t affect like his goal which was you know the the along the goal line pulling it and that was a nice play right right um didn’t count but um not because of him uh so for me like yeah boquist I like boquist he’s kind of been like a a mystery flavored Airhead

Honestly since like the Bruins signed him because they sign him and they put him in Providence and it’s like you just don’t really see him um but you know since he’s been called up this this this latest stint being called up it’s one of those times where you sit there and you

Say oh yeah like he this guy does have NHL experience and NHL speed and skill he just hasn’t put it all together um consistently in the scoring department but if we’re talking a fourth line role right now for this Bruins team where he’s providing speed and creativity and

He and he’s checking with his legs um and he’s responsible on both sides of the puck then like I I think he should also get a continued look because I think he’s outperforming Loco uh despite his first goal last night I think he’s better than Steen probably and and you

Know Beach is a player that I think we all expect a little bit more from going forward but but yeah I like I like boquist yeah I was going to say boquist being an up comes at the expense of maybe one of the only Bruins who’s a

Down this week and that that is Johnny Beacher who’s been a healthy scratch the last two games he’s now been a healthy scratch four times in the month of January um and you know when I don’t feel like he’s been playing like super poorly when he’s been in there like just

Making terrible mistakes all over the place or anything but clearly they do want more from him um you know that when he’s been the center in the fourth line that line has not produced much offensively and that’s not all his fault you know we just talked about loo just

Got his first goal Oscar Steen has not had many points at all this year so I think is steen’s still stuck on one point or has he got a second one at some point but anyways regardless not not a lot of scoring there um um yeah you know not a lot of anything

There Scott not a lot of anything really yeah I mean look beacher’s Faceoff ability keeps him in the conversation because there have been times that they’ve struggled on faceoffs when he’s been out of the lineup But ultimately like you do need more than that and um you know I think they’re finding a

Little bit more with some other guys right now including boist whose speed has been noticeable you know you see some some offensive creativity at least in ability to make things happen there um and it’s going to be it’s gonna be really interesting to see what happens with beer going forward because when it

Comes time to activate forbert it’s not just potentially defenseman going down but because of their cap situation there might be a a forward who has to go down too and you know usually healthy scratches can be kind of telling as to who might go down and let’s remember that Mt watch has

Been out recently too like he is just now getting back from that shoulder injury last week uh he was on the ice for warm-ups Thursday but ultimately didn’t play so once he gets back in the lineup that’s even one fewer spot for for be to get in yeah and and when

You’re when you’re a fourth liner or a third pair defenseman you have to fight for your spot in the lineup every night you have to make a case for yourself it’s not that you’re um You’re Not Safe really at any point if on the on the fourth line and especially you’re not

Safe if you’re Beacher and you have one of the only two-way contracts on the team that you’re the easy option so to speak to send back down without somebody having to clear waivers so um that’s the difficult part of playing it that in that part of the lineup if you’re not

Making a case for yourself night in and night out and you know other people are fighting for that spot bofus has wanted this opportunity the entire year and he’s finally gotten it he is a center I looked I was looking at his face off numbers he was exactly 50% on the game

Four wins four losses um I don’t think he’s you know a liability at the dot I know you said beer is is good but I will say Bist has been in the past his his face off numbers in the NHL in his career are are bad can I ask you guys a

Question um and with especially with this Bruins team I’m really not cons I’m really not concerned with labeling lines um but what would you think about a trio and I know there could be some positional redundancy here but if we’re talking speed um in potential chemistry

Like I wouldn’t mind seeing a a trio combination of of boquist hinen and and ptra if you want to call it a fourth line for a few games go for it and I again I know there’s some positional redundancy but like I don’t know like the Way Frederick and and geeky are

Playing together like um on a third line role with with whomever JV like it doesn’t really matter um I’d be interested in seeing that potentially at some point too just just because foror’s the reason to see definitely an interesting definitely an interesting combination you probably throw boquist

To the wing for that in ptra Center you think yeah probably yeah but just to see it’s it certainly leaves something to be desired sizewise in terms of a bottom six line um but you know if you’re kind of already reimagining what your fourth line Looks like which they clearly are

Because they’ve been trying a bunch of different combinations recently then yeah then I guess anything’s on the table um including you know not that he deserves it but we did see a game where Trent Frederick was on was the fourth line Center and the fourth line got more ice

Time than usual that game and I I think that’s something that Jim monery wants to find too is like he wants to find a fourth line that he can actually use you know I was looking back at last year Thomas NOK averaged over 12 minutes a

Game he was over 10 minutes pretty much every single night and if you look at Johnny beer he has not been over 10 minutes since December 27th like kind of you know not that they’re the exact same player or whatever but you do sort of pencil them into that same role as

Fourth line Center but Montgomery trust in no to use in three four five more minutes a game which is important like especially as you’re talking about the second half of the season and maybe trying to manage some minutes at some point or get a little bit more balance

You know La last night’s a game where all the brunes top guys played over 20 minutes and you’re fine with that in a game like that but you don’t want to do that game and game out down the stretch so finding a fourth line you can actually play is is important yeah and

Again like that’s this this Bruins team is just like you know I mean any line that David pasnak is on is a first line but it’s it’s almost like this team has like you know call it like three second L you know it’s like a they have a sec

They have a first line a second line and two third lines like I it’s not not not necessarily like an elite third line but they have two it they’re not a traditional team and like yeah I just don’t think the the day the days of like having a big you know

Strong fourth line that’s going to intimidate with their physicality it’s not it’s not really there if they’re going to try to have a fourth line that checks with their speed and their skill then then go all in on that and see how it goes for a little

Bit and I’m shock of myself saying this but I have to go based off of what their current roster construction is so yeah and the fact that we couldn’t come up with a really great option for them to bring in on the fourth line that would be physical and make sense so

Exactly yep all right guys I think that probably wraps up if you have anything else to say I just have one eras night is Saturday um there’s another arrow night Scott is that what you’re gonna say no I was gonna briefly cover the news that uh Milan lich’s pre-trial

Hearing took place Friday morning and a trial date was scheduled for February 16th all as far as the Bruins what that means is that you’re probably not going to hear anything about me on luch for another month um and then one last little news and note uh Bruins practice is happening while

We’re recording Friday morning so Steve Steve con the Boston Herald said Martian not skating not a surprise just gonna I’m gonna assume that that is uh maintenance but zaka centering ptra and de brusk so I think this is the first time in a practice we’ve seen Poon on

The wings so something to keep an eye on that that might just be because Martian’s out and someone needs to move over to the wing but um something to monitor definitely all right well that wraps it up for this episode thank you all for listening enjoy your weekend and we will

Talk to you on Monday hey guys thanks for watching thecate podcast if you want to see more of our videos visit our playlist not in front of a screen you can listen to us on Spotify Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast don’t forget to follow us on social Med

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What the Bruins’ win over the Avs tells us about their ability to match up with the league’s star power. Jake DeBrusk speaks about changes in his production. Does Parker Wotherspoon have a long term future in Boston?

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