Kalman: Frank Vatrano Likely To Give Slumping Bruins A Jolt, Even If He Doesn't Score
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- Bruins coach Claude Julien put up a brave front Tuesday after practice at Ristuccia Arena when he was asked about the team's recent scoring woes.
Although the Bruins scored three goals total in their three losses on their road trip to California, Julien expressed satisfaction with the number of scoring chances the Bruins had against San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Some combination of a lack of finish and strong opposing goaltending – in particular by the Ducks' Frederik Andersen and the Kings' Jonathan Quick – prevented the Bruins from scoring enough to get at least one or two points in the standings while on the West Coast, according to Julien.
But clearly behind closed doors the Bruins decided there was more to their problems at the offensive end because before they took the ice for practice, they summoned rookie Frank Vatrano from Providence of the AHL. A 33-goal scorer in 33 games for the Providence Bruins this season, Vatrano is joining the fray to hopefully provide the Bruins with scoring from players not named Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand or Loui Eriksson.
Vatrano had six goals in 30 games before he went back to Providence in January. He scored just one goal in his last 13 games for Boston, but he was getting his shots and his shooting percentage of 3.0 did not reflect his ability to score. In the AHL, he has a shooting percentage of 19.0. In fact, despite sporadic playing time and some line juggling, Vatrano had a Corsi For percentage of better than 50 percent in three of his last five NHL games, according to war-on-ice.com.
The Bruins, though, decided the 22-year-old Vatrano, one year removed from playing for UMass, needed some more seasoning. And they didn't miss him all that much, as they were challenging for first place in the Atlantic Division as recently as the week before their road trip, and they're fourth in the NHL in goals scored per game (2.90).
By all accounts, including his own, Vatrano made the most of extra ice time and an expanded role with the P-Bruins.
"I went down there to get my confidence back in my offensive game and play more minutes," he said after practicing with Boston on Tuesday. "I got a lot of minutes down there, played power play and the first two lines. So I think going down there really helped me get to this position now, getting another shot to play in the NHL. Playing in the AHL has been a good development for me. I've accomplished a lot down there. But then again, Boston thought it was my turn to come up here. So I'm here to make the most of the opportunity."
Julien can put a positive spin on most things, but the malaise some of his bottom-six forwards are in is impossible to polish with compliments. Jimmy Hayes has no points in his past 11 games. Brett Connolly has one goal in his past 13 games, Landon Ferraro is goal-less in nine games and Matt Beleskey has one assist in the past 11 games. Ryan Spooner hasn't scored in eight games and he hasn't potted an even-strength goal since Feb. 4.
The Bruins ran up against some of the best goaltending and best teams in the NHL while in California, but they were pretty easy to play against with just two lines providing any semblance of an offensive challenge.
At least in the public eye, Vatrano seems mature for his age. And his words reflect a player that's realistic about what he can accomplish at this stage of his career in the NHL. He's not just basing his performance on goals and points.
"Points aren't everything sometimes," he said. "Sometimes you'll play good for 10 games and you're not finding the net or getting points. So I think it's just keep playing your game that you always play and try not to get away from just because you're not scoring, don't hold your stick tighter or change the way you play. I think for me it's being an energy guy, be physical, be good in all areas and be reliable everywhere."
Although the Bruins need goals and points from Vatrano, they'll take some energy and physicality if that's all he can provide for a short time. Too often when they're not providing offense, Hayes, Spooner and the other bottom-six forwards leave the Bruins wanting in more areas than just the score sheet.
So Vatrano's addition to the lineup isn't about causing an offensive eruption as it is a plan to spark the team as a whole and shake up some slumbering veterans. With nine games left and their lead on the teams behind them in the playoff race shrinking by the day, the Bruins need the type of jolt Vatrano should be able to provide.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
