Bruce Cassidy Will Consider Lineup Changes For Bruins' Game 4 Vs. Lighting
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy made a minor tweak to his lineup for Game 3 against the Lightning. After suffering a 4-1 loss and falling behind in the series 2-1, Cassidy may resort to some stronger measures.
Cassidy was asked if he's concerned about the lack of production out of his third line, which features David Backes, Danton Heinen and Riley Nash.
"I am concerned," Cassidy said. "We always look at -- we've got some guys that weren't dressed tonight that have played well for this team. So we'll have that conversation [Thursday]. I think it's easier to do it in the morning than it is to do after the game. And some guys have had a tough time. If they stay in [the lineup], they need to be better."
The move Cassidy made for Game 3 involved the fourth line, plugging Tommy Wingels in for Tim Schaller (no goals, two assists in nine games played). The move proved to have little impact; Wingels skated for 11:24 and was on the ice for Anthony Cirelli's goal to give Tampa a 3-1 lead.
It is the third line, now, where Cassidy will focus his attention and perhaps make a change.
Backes now has three points in 10 games, while Heinen's lone point was a goal in Game 7 against Toronto. Nash has one assist in eight games. On the other side, Tampa's top line of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and J.T. Miller has been held almost completely in check by Boston. Stamkos scored an empty-netter in Game 3, but it's been Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Dan Girardi and Mikhail Sergachev who have scored all of Tampa's other goals in the series.
The Bruins, meanwhile, haven't gotten any production from their bottom six forwards. But according to Cassidy, a lack of offensive production alone is not enough to warrant being taken out of the lineup.
"A lot of discussion [Tuesday], the questions centered around secondary scoring," Cassidy said. "That matters, but if you're not bringing that -- and we've talked about this -- if you don't have your A game so to speak, then bring your B game. You've gotta defend better, and that's what my issue was. You need to bring something else to the table, and then eventually scoring will come if you're a guy that's scored in this league. I really believe that. And I think that's where fundamentally we're missing out on some of the players we rely on."
Cassidy also admitted that his team appears to be the slower team in this series.
"I think we look slower than them," Cassidy said. "They are a fast team, so we expect them to play fast. I just think we're not supporting each other quick enough and then making the appropriate play with the puck to appear faster. It seems like it's getting turned over and coming back at us, and all of a sudden you're chasing it all the time. ... The last two games, we didn't play enough of our game. They've played their game better than we've played ours, and they've won both games. So I would use the word we were slow at times and stubborn."
The discussion will invariably lead to Ryan Donato. The 22-year-old displayed a knack for scoring during his brief time in the regular season, when he scored five goals and picked up four assists for nine points in 12 games played. He began the postseason on the bench, was given playing time just once vs. Toronto, and has been a spectator ever since.
In his one postseason game, he was on the ice for a Toronto goal. But it was a game which Boston won 7-3.
With a need for secondary scoring, there's sure to be a lot of discussion in Boston whether Donato might be worth another shot to inject some needed offense into a third line that's given the Bruins very little to this point in the postseason.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
