Emergency Call-Ups Griffith, Czarnik Could Boost Offense In Time To Save Bruins
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
WILMINGTON (CBS) – After his team practiced without four lineup regulars Wednesday at Ristuccia Arena, Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't willing to consider what life might be like with emergency call-ups Austin Czarnik and Seth Griffith playing for Boston in St. Louis in the first game of a two-game road trip on Friday.
Czarnik and Griffith were both summoned from Providence of the AHL in time to practice with the parent club because the Bruins were missing centers David Krejci and Ryan Spooner, and wing Brett Connolly. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg also sat practice out after he was injured during the Bruins' sixth loss in their past seven games, a 2-1 defeat to New Jersey on Tuesday.
Czarnik and Griffith have both had hot hands with the P-Bruins, so one has to wonder if Julien should be crossing his fingers for the return of all his veterans or hoping his team can get a youthful shot of scoring from Czarnik and/or Griffith in time to salvage the playoff spot the Bruins are clinging to by the skin of their teeth.
The Bruins are 2-6-1 in their past nine games with 15 goals scored. So far their offense hasn't cost them a spot in the top eight in the Eastern Conference because Detroit, which is one point behind the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division, has been just as inept as Boston. The Red Wings lost to Montreal on Tuesday while the Bruins were scoring on just one of 40 shots on net against the Devils.
Although Krejci and Spooner are proven NHL players who've combined for 103 points this season, if they're banged up they might not be able to help the Bruins as much as a healthy Czarnik or Griffith. The Bruins might also welcome the chance to play someone other than Connolly, who has nine goals in 71 games.
In 51 games this season, Griffith has 22 goals and 67 points. Last season he had just six games in 30 games for the Bruins, but he had three goals in a seven-game stretch near the start of the season. If he could give Boston a similar jolt in the final five games it could be the difference between the Bruins getting back in the playoffs or heading home for the second straight year.
Griffith thinks he knows what it takes to duplicate the production he provided at the start of his fall 2014 call-up.
"For me, obviously I'm an offensive guy. So it's a lot different down there than coming up here," said Griffith, who had one assist in a two-game call-up this season. "Down there when you get playing and you get scoring, it seems like you can slow the game down a little bit. But up here even if you're getting points, you've got to get in those dirty areas. You can't slow the game down as much up here. I think it's just a matter of coming to the rink every day, doing the little things, not taking a day off because I think when you start to get comfortable that's when you start to fall back a little bit."
Czarnik is a first-year pro with no NHL experience yet. But this season he has 15 goals and 52 points in 59 games for the P-Bruins. Czarnik had chemistry with left wing Frank Vatrano, who has seven goals in 34 games for Boston and 33 goals in 33 games for Providence. Maybe one game together in the NHL could turn the Vatrano-Czarnik combination into a difference-maker for the Bruins.
Czarnik centered Vatrano and veteran Lee Stempniak in practice.
"I think I've just got to play my game, be simple, don't try to do too much," Czarnik said. "Right now, I'm with Frank, if that's going to happen, I just give him the puck, let him shoot. But also, when I do have an opportunity to shoot, shoot it, just try to create rebounds and get around the net."
Emergency call-up rules would require the Bruins to be without an extra forward before Czarnik or Griffith could get in the lineup for a game. But the Bruins shouldn't be afraid to give their veterans extra time to heal and reap the rewards of some fresh blood in the lineup. Remember during the 2013 playoffs when injuries to half the defense corps pressed Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski into action? That worked out just fine and catapulted the Bruins to the Eastern Conference title.
The stakes now aren't as high but one could argue getting into the playoffs now is as important to the franchise as winning a few rounds was three years ago. Do the Bruins want to rely on Jimmy Hayes, Landon Ferraro or Connolly finding the range offensively in time to save the day? They'd be better off with call-ups taking a turn and maybe showing the incumbents how to get it done.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
