BOSTON BRUINS QUOTES Pregame Wednesday, August 26, 2020

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY On his goalie for game 3… We have a couple game time – certainly one game time decision up front. Halak is scheduled to start. He did not skate on the ice today so he’s recovered well. That’s the plan. And then, like I said, we’ll have a game-time decision. We may have to dress seven D tonight, take a forward out. We’ve kind of contemplated that going into the back-to-back – on the second night of the back-to-back, that’s something we’re mulling over. We’ll make a decision by game time.

On the thought process of using of seven D… Back-to-back game, some guys it’s a heavier workload. You’re playing McAvoy upward of 25 minutes. Just go give – we have some smaller guys that it’s been a physical series for them. So, save a little wear and tear, put some fresh legs in there. The disadvantage of seven D is finding your rhythm as a defenseman. The second part of that is obviously up front, what if we get an injury to a forward? Now you’re really down to 10, so there can be some risk involved in the playoffs, especially considering the tight games we’ve been in like overtimes. That’s where we have to be careful. At the end of the day, one thing that has happened in the past is Connor Clifton has played forward. If he’s in the lineup he’s not unfamiliar with that. It’s not ideal obviously but it is a situation – an emergency situation that, he played some forward in Providence so he could pinch hit up there if something were to happen.

On Vladar if he had to go in… I don’t know, honestly. I’ve never seen him play an NHL game, so that’s a question that he would answer himself. We’re not nervous of putting him in there, were not afraid of putting him in there. Is it necessary, first of all? A, that has to do with what we said before with Jaro and B, because of the situation, he’s never played, that’s a big ask. That’s where we’re at. If we have to, we will, and we’ll play well in front of him and hopefully he’ll be up to the task.

On the forwards health… We have a game time decision up front. That’s what I told Steve earlier. But we have lots of extra forwards that have played. Studnicka’s played, Kuhlman’s played, Lindholm’s played. So, there’s lots of guys that have been in the lineup. We certainly have 12 capable guys, it’s just, what’s the best formula for this particular game. That’s why we would consider seven D, the extra legs on the back end, the extra body in the back end might be more beneficial than a twelfth forward.

On the black aces… Readiness, they skate probably five, six days a week here. They’re probably going to have a day off a week like everybody else. They’re preparing as best they can with the small group. Sometimes they skate with the big group. So, we’re trying to blend that so they do stay sharp. At the end of the day, they’re going to be behind simply because they haven’t played any playoff hockey in their career in the National Hockey League, for one. So, it’s always an eye opener. we’re watching Bjork go through that. And secondly, now they haven’t played any really live hockey. It would be a big ask. We’re not that far down the road yet. What we do need is better from the middle of our group. That second layer of our group that have been in the league and who could be the future of the Boston Bruins. We’re not going to try to predict what’s going to happen down the road but these are guys that can really make a name for themselves in this playoff. We’ve had a decade long production from our top end and our core. They show up to play every night. What we’re looking for a little bit tonight in a back-to-back, it’s become a bit of a young leg’s playoff, if you look around. We need some of that tonight. That was a bit of the message today. It’s time for those guys to step up and pull the veteran core along. And what I mean is energy wise. Obviously, Brad Marchand to me was the best player on the ice. He doesn’t need any help. He’s fine. He’s going to show up and play. Some of the other guys that we rely on were brought in, it’s time for them to pull a little harder on the rope in the game today and we’ll see if that materializes.

On Brad Marchand’s progression… I think he’s got people around him that care about him and that have talked to him. That’s his family both in Boston and Eastern Canada. He’s got teammates, he’s got a coaching staff that believes in him. I think some of that was conversations about behavior. What’s required to make you play your best and what are you doing just to sort of refocus yourself, etc. Do you need to be that guy anymore or just let your play on the ice do that talking, I think is the biggest message. I think he’s realized that now. He came into the league and was a bit of agitator and had to do different things than he’s doing now to stay in the lineup, so he just knows, has a really elite player in the league now and we need him on the ice to play hockey and I think that’s the biggest thing. He’s recognized his advancement in his career and what he brings to the team. And some of it is just age, maturity. As you get older, you generally probably self-analyze better and he’s probably done a little bit of that internally himself.