BOSTON BRUINS POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS. ANAHEIM DUCKS Thursday, December 20, 2018 BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY On what it means to see David Krejci and Torey Krug reach milestones… Well listen, it’s a team game but individually these players, you know, obviously enjoy having a certain level of success and that, you know, if the individuals are having success, it breeds team success and vice versa. So I’m happy for all those guys, you know [David] Krejci and [Torey] Krug have been great Bruins for a number of years. [David] Backes not as long as those guys but a great NHL player for a long time so, it’s nice to see them healthy you know, Krejci looks good this year and you know, we’ve had a few hiccups in the past, setbacks, but this year he’s been good. Backes as well now. You see his skating legs, particularly in the past 3-4 weeks you see a much more effect player for us. Krug’s always been productive, it’s a tough start for him in terms of his injury, but, I think their health, you know, if those players can stay healthy, they’ve proven they're good players in the league so I don’t see that changing as long as, like I said, they can stay out of the medical room. On if there is any difficulty taking David Krejci out of his spot… Well we’re, listen, we’re assuming Bergy, [Patrice Bergeron] he’s very close, we know that, whether it’s tomorrow, sorry Saturday or Sunday, or next week, we don’t know but let’s say it is, then you know, we’re going to have to look at the, you know, do we want to set all the lines maybe to balance it out? Or just want to drop Bergy back in there and move Krech [David Krejci]. Without [Jake] DeBrusk being in the mix, you know, I’m a little more reticent to just move Krech out of there and keep those three together but that’s something we’ll have to look to see how Jake’s progressing, for one. So it’s a lot of “ifs” but yeah, it’s going to be tough but a very welcome decision to have Bergy back in there, like I said, you can’t lose right? That’s the way I look at it. Whoever we put in there, whether it’s Krech or Bergy, you know, we’re a better team for it, you know, whatever center gets, you know, onto the next line. On how he thinks Torey Krug has handled his injury and being counted on more… Well, I'm sure he preferred a normal training camp and a normal time to get going, but that’s, you know, it is what it is, you know, he’s adjusted well. It took him a little while to find his shooting stride. You're starting to see him score more because of his decisions to shoot the puck in certain spots. Some of that is just the game, comes around you when you're a good player, the pucks finds you a little more. Krech, the same way. Obviously playing with those two guys it does find you more, but, Marchy [Brad Marchand] the start of the year, same thing. I think, you know, he was looking to pass more and all of the sudden the puck finds you at the right spot. So those good players, generally, it will balance out. It’s happened with Torey [Krug] in the offensive. The defending part, that’s all on, usually on the player makes that decision on how hard they want to defend and that’s something that’s usually will and compete. We’ve played him with [Brandon] Carlo and he’s usually playing against the second line, in general. So he’s done a good job with force there and you know, until we get back to a full boat that’s kind what we ask for him, see how it plays out. On if it’s been their best six periods of play since the injuries… Defensively, for sure. I think we’re working hard for one another to support one another in terms of our routes, forechecking, neutral zone, we’re working to get back above the puck. We’ve had stretches where we’ve obviously played well. But yes, I think team defense-wise, you look at the last two games. Of course, Jaro's [Jaroslav Halak] there for us, making saves, but I think they're both, you know, we’re almost another shutout. I think you could put those under the team category, sometimes the goalie, hey, he’s just not going to be beat that night, but in general, I think the last two games we’ve worked hard for our goaltender to limit the chances. There’s always going to be a breakdown here or there we’re you need the big save, we got that in the second period I think in the PK. So good for Jaro, but yes, defensively, we’ve seemed to have found our stride. On if it took a while for the offense to start tonight… Well, they’re a good defensive team. They clog it up, and they defend hard in front of their net. Obviously, our power play made a difference, and that matters. It’s a big part of our offense, and it has been all year, fairly consistent. We’ll have the odd dip, but for the most part they’ll bounce back. Five-on-five we’ve defended real well, we’ve just had some issues scoring goals five-on- five. Hopefully we get better and better. Sometimes you generate, and it doesn’t go in. That happened I think in Pittsburgh: it did go in but not enough. Tonight, we didn’t generate as much. I give some credit to Anaheim for that. They play a pretty tight game, and their goaltender was good when he needed to be. But, I see it coming around, got four in Montreal, three in Pittsburgh, three tonight. I’m a little more optimistic in that regard, especially in the last two or three weeks. On David Backes’ role on the power play when Patrice Bergeron returns to the lineup… Yeah, he’s been good on the bumper. Last year we threw Riley Nash in there. I think it’s a coveted spot, so to speak. You’re going to see pucks, there’s a lot of o-zone time, those guys zip it around. Usually, you’re going to find a puck here or there, so yeah it is a good spot. But listen, Bergy’s back in lineup, and he’s going in there. He’s very good at it, but I think it’s given Backs [David Backes] some confidence. Hopefully, when Bergy comes back he’s still going to be a confident player, offensively, and maybe we reconfigure the second unit a little bit so we use a little more of his talents in that one. That’s something we’d have to consider. On if moving David Pastrnak down to David Krejci’s line is now a possibility… Yes, again, Jake [DeBrusk] always factors into that, and without getting ahead of myself, yes. We could go in pairs: Bergy/March, Pasta/David [Krejci]. Where Jake goes from there, if he’s in fact playing, that’s where the problems come in. If you split them up… now the third line, we’ve tried to keep those kids together. Something’s going to have to give on the other lines. But, that’s a good problem to have, like I said before, because, listen, we want Bergy in the lineup. We want Krech in the lineup. That’s our one-a and one-b up the middle, so we’ll sort it out from there, which kind of we’ve done all year. See what fits best, and we’re getting to the point where I think we have to look at it. We’ve talked about it as we get healthier and our lineups complete. We’re kind of – I think it’s going to be after Christmas until we get everyone back – but it’s sort of, it’s coming. BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID PASTRNAK On generating offense on the power play... Yeah, huge for us. You know, the power play didn’t go well, so we try to get a little bit movement up top and it worked today. So, really happy we got some big PP goals. On if offense was hard to come by against Anaheim... Yeah, well obviously they are a good team. Always tough to play against the West teams and we knew it wouldn’t be easy, but tried to take another step forward after the game against Montreal and it worked today. So I think overall it was a good game. Jaro [Jaroslav Halak] played unbelievable. On his good performance in back-to-back games... Yeah, I mean, back-to-back great games and you know, how I said, just try to keep moving forward and don’t take any steps back. On his holiday pants... It’s simple. It’s blue and there is a snowman on it. On if it will be tough to move David Krejci off the top line when Patrice Bergeron returns... Well, I’m really happy that it’s not my job.