LIVE Poke The Bear: Can Bruins overcome latest wave of injuries?

LIVE Poke The Bear: Can Bruins overcome latest wave of injuries?

and Poke Bear episode 381, part of the CNNS media network. If you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel where we have pretty much daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins meet with Evan Marinowski, Pucks with Hags. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins season. So follow along with us over at YouTube. And if you don’t like YouTube, you don’t want to see my ugly face. I get it. You can subscribe and follow along with us over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever else you get your hockey podcast. This episode is also brought to you by Prize Fix, the best way to win cash this football season. Download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Price picks. It’s good to be right. My name is Connor Ryan and once again we are joined by the esteemed, the ever knowledgeable Ty Anderson of 985. This what’s up. Ty, how you doing? There’s something in his eye. Ty Anderson right now. My god, I can’t see anything right now. No, I’m I’m doing very well. Uh, how are you doing? I’m doing well. Uh, want to once again uh wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone had uh a time to rest, relax, have a lot of stuff in, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, all the good stuff that one does on Thanksgiving. So, hope everyone had some time to sit back and relax, and also watch the Boston Bruins. Hopefully, everyone avoided watching the Black Friday game, which yikes. But the Bruins were able to come back on Saturday, beat the Red Wings in a shootout. Um, and Ty, when you kind of look at this recent stretch, I know it’s been a while since we’ve been on this podcast, and with the schedule being as hectic as it is, a lot has happened since then, what’s kind of your main takeaway from this stretch where they go to the Islanders, they win there on the road, lay an egg kind of on Black Friday, and then bounce back with a pretty strong effort in a pretty competitive, fun game on Saturday against Detroit. Yeah, I I I think the biggest takeaway is that they’ve probably eclipsed the point of injuries they can handle. Um, and I say that basically saying that they can survive it so long as they get elite goalending. And in both of their wins since Wednesday and Saturday, they’ve had elite goalending from Jeremy Swayman. Um, that has been the difference that has that is why they won those games. And so I I think if you look at, you know, where they are right now, no Posternok, no Makavoy, I think we all agree that we entered the year saying that Postnox, Swayman, and Makavoy were your three most important pieces, right? Your your your best forward, your best defenseman, your best goalender. Um, and you’re down your best forward and best and best defenseman right now. So your goalender has to be your best player right now. He is your your most expensive player. you know, Makoy is out, Pos is out. So, that makes sensive player on your roster and he’s got to play like it. And I think he’s playing like it right now. And so, I think that’s my biggest takeaway is that this is not sustainable unless you get otherworldly goalending for the next couple of weeks and then you’re going to be okay. Yeah. And I think you look at the way Swayman’s been playing as of late. Uh, sure feels like he he’s back to being the the guy we saw two years ago where the Bruins saw a young goalender who had all the makings of a future number one. A guy that’s confident in his own abilities, a guy that, you know, plays with a little bit of swagger and I think you saw that both on Wednesday where he, you know, has a careerhigh in saves against the Islanders on the road and then stands tall against the Red Wings. I mean, he was money in that shootout. You got I was looking at all the guys that Detroit trots out like how much skill they have there. It’s like gez this is a murderer’s row of guys you like don’t want to go up against in a shootout situation like gloves that uh cane shot you know turns aside to brinket all those types of players um you know since he got shelled in that one game in October against Ottawa’s what 8-2 934 save percentage uh in the month of November so to your point yeah the Bruins the the injuries they have right now it’s not sustainable you’re going to continue you know continuously acrew true points unless playing at this level. And he sure feels like the guy that the Bruins thought they were getting when they handed him that contract a year ago. Yeah, I mean he’s been neck and neck in my opinion with I would I would say, you know, Wedgewood’s had an incredible start to his year, but really for the last month or so, I think Vaselki and Swayman have just been incredible, right? And and sure enough, they’re both in the Atlantic Division, which is bad news for the Bruins, right? You know, they’re in and out of the playoffs every other day, it feels like. But um this is the guy you paid, right? And this is the guy that we saw end the year in a positive. This is the guy we saw go to the Worlds and have a great run for Team USA. And so it does feel like he’s put everything behind him. Um and it does feel like he’s in that mind spa that that mindset and that mental space that we saw in 2024 when when he was a great goalender for them. He was an all-star. He was in the playoffs. And so, um, I I I really do feel like they are just like he’s dialed in right now. The team in front of him, I think, for the most part is, you know, stepping up with with how how they can right now. Like, I think we’re we’re grossly underestimating how battered they are in defense on the right side right now. And your best option is Jonathan Asparo, you know, moving up with the top pairing. Now, they they they tinker with that a little bit last night, but there’s a lot of strain on Andrew Peak, who a year ago this time was your third pairing. Right shot D. He’s had a good year. Um, but I and it was almost decapitated yesterday, too. You almost lost another guy. The hell was that? Classic Fleet Center, right? You know that that’s that’s TD Garden, baby. You know, the the boards are weird and the glass eats helmets now, apparently. So, or flattens or flattens check centers. It’s just it’s Yeah, exactly. Knock them. They deny dynasties. Uh, basically. No. Um, I I do think that, you know, he’s just been so good, right? And I think the biggest thing, Connor, for me is that that game on the island, guess what it was? It was his third game in a row. He hasn’t been good in third games in a row and he was good in that game. He was good on Saturday. The workload has increased and he’s remained elite. That is what is super important for this team because I know, listen, Corposal wants to play more. I understand that and I was saying you have to play Corpus Alammore because Swayman’s not good when you play him three times in four games or three games in a row. It seems like he’s fixed that problem. And if he does, holy crap, look out. Now you have an elite number one goalender. Yeah. And I think even look at, you know, that game against the Islanders where it was his third game in a row and both before the game and after the game, Marco Sturm mentioned like, hey, he’s he’s playing great right now and we have confidence in him. And I think he even echoed that Saturday after that win. Like the team, you know, they are what they are right now as far as the injuries, how short-handed, like they know that they’re kind of swimming against the tide as far as what’s what they have to do to consistently win games, but how much of a confidence boost is there, especially for a pretty battered deort when you have a guy like Jeremy Swayman playing so well in net behind you, right? like you almost have that extra security blanket, that extra bit of protection where even if there is a a Dzone gaff or two, you can kind of flush it right away because most likely Jeremy Swman’s making that stop. You know, that’s even what was echoed when he was on that heater in the playoffs where that Bruins team was not was not a a perfect squad, right? That was a moneyball Bruins team, but they kept in those games. they beat uh Toronto in the first round and challenge Florida throughout that second round because you had the great equalizer in that. And so I think just the confidence for right now of swimming playing that level, you’re seeing that kind of bleed into their results. It feels like even when you look at the depth chart, you look at the warm-ups every every game, you’re like, “Oh man, like they’re asking a lot of XYZ players.” You still see Sway in a net, you’re like, “No, they got a shot.” And that’s huge for a team right now as you’re just trying to weather the storm, I think, at this point. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I I think, you know, if you watch the third period of the game on Saturday, right? like they’re outshot 13-4. They have breakdowns left and right, but it felt like Swayman was making those saves that, you know, you saw them in 2024, right, when when they would get overmatched by a team and it was like a patchwork defense, as you noted, like Swayman had that ability to calm things down, right? like his poise when he has like a nasty glove save or you know a great sprawling save and he covers it up and he gets up and he just skates to the corner and skates back and like you could just feel the whole bench calming down right and and that’s sort of I think you know I remember talking to a player during that run that he was on and I kind of said like you know what is he like for you when he’s back there making those those 10 bell saves and you know things are going out of things are are spiraling out of control but he’s back there and they’re like they’re Like you can’t stress how important that is for us in terms of like how it gets everyone to take a deep breath, calm down, and put that bad shift behind them or that ugly turnover behind them. Like that’s what you’re seeing from him right now. I feel like where they were really bad in that third period, but you know, he makes 11 saves and some high quality looks and you can almost feel like the rest of the team kind of be like, “All right, bad shift. Put it behind you.” Like that’s that’s the mark of an elite goalender. And and I feel like that’s where his game is at right now. And you know, I think, you know, you mentioned that game in Ottawa. I feel like it maybe took that to happen to be like, “All right, one more of those and I’m I’m sick of this [ __ ] I don’t want to deal with that anymore.” And I feel like I feel like that’s a real thing that’s happened to him. Yeah. No, and and he’s been playing great. And I think on the opposite side of that token, right, uh you want to score kind of swimming against the tide as well, right? You you look at I mean um money puck if you want to look at goals saved above expected which feels like it’s like the good barometer as far as like how a goalender is dealing with just shot quality as opposed to the structure in front of him right um sway if you look at just money puck he’s first uh in the league at 19.4 goals saved above expected. Corposalo he’s 74th out of 78 goalies uh with a minus 5.9 goals saved above expected. So he’s been fighting it. He’s got an 875 save percentage so far this year. Again, he’s had his moments where he’s uh, you know, stood tall. I look at that game, the Chicago home opener, where he made some insane saves in that overtime period, he had a couple of key stops on the Rangers first power play, I believe, on Friday. But still, I think when you look at how slim the margin for error for this team is, especially, you need more from your backup goalender, I think, at this point. It’s not saying you need a 914 backup goalie, but you need like a 901, right? Like you just need a little bit more, I think, from the guy that’s following Swimman right now to help you string some of these wins together. I think that’s what this team desperately needs is like a three-game win streak just to start, you know, getting some separation in these standings. I think Yeah. And and so it’s so hard, right? Because we we’ve talked about Corposalo on this podcast before and how some nights like the numbers don’t match up how well he played, right? Like that Chicago game, he finishes it with like an 875, but you’re kind of you’re kind of going, “No, no, no, no. He made some big saves in the third period and he made two big saves in overtime.” So like situationally, he was good, right? And so his numbers sometimes don’t tell the whole story. He’s had three games in a row where he’s been under 900. And you know, maybe he was good enough in the game in um Anaheim, but I don’t think he was good enough in the Ranger game. I just I I I don’t like when you’re that under manned and when you’re that short-handed, you need like a herculean performance. And fair or unfair, he’s a $4 million backup. He’s only on the books for three in Boston, but he’s a $4 million goalie. And so that’s what you need. if you have an 11 million dollar tandem, like that’s when you needed to kind of step up there and and and help you out much like Swayman did on Saturday night. And so that didn’t really happen. And I understand it’s, you know, it’s a five on three for the Rangers, but can you not give up two goals in 45 seconds? Like can you can you keep the can you keep it at one, you know, is that is that fair to ask? I feel like it is. Um and then you’re chasing a you’re chasing a onegoal game in the third period, right? If you just you can give up one of those goals on the power. Exactly. No, exactly. and and and so it it’s really frustrating because I I just feel like some of the things that haunted Corposalo in um Ottawa have have hurt him this year where he’s back to giving up goals on the first or second shot of the game. Um he’s he’s back to kind of just not giving you enough like he battles but like the hole is almost dug too deep and then you’re like all right now we’re really battling back. Um, and so in meanwhile you got two guys in the miners that are putting up dueling 942s. And so you look at that, you go, “All right, you know, what do you do here?” I I just it it it’s this team if they’re going to add, right? If they’re going to add, they’re going to have to clear money. I don’t know the money they clear. I don’t know it. Like they don’t have a lot of guys that you look at and say, “Oh yeah, you’re going to move them.” Corposalo is probably one of the top three though that you look at and you say maybe you can move that money. You know, I think it’s I think it’s Corposalo. I think it’s Lori and I think it’s probably Middlestad. Like those are three guys that I think if they’re moving somebody that’s the money they want to move. But Corposal’s got to give you more. He just does. Even if you don’t believe in the fancy stats, guys, like you you mentioned, you know, the the expected goals, the saved above average, all that. He’s fifth worst save percentage among the 39 goalies that have played at least 10 games. Like you need more out of him. You just do. And so I I just feel like that you want that. Remember that uh around this time last year he went on that little hut run where he had like backto-back shutouts or whatever. Yeah. Like you desperately need something like that to kind of get you feeling more comfortable because you are going to need him. You’re gonna need him or you’re gonna need a backup goalie in general. Like you can’t we’re just talking about Swayman, right? You can’t play him 60 games because you just you just can’t, right? Like the schedule’s too weird. Swimman might be playing the Olympics at this rate for Team USA. Like you got to keep those games down. Yeah. Yeah. So I just think you got to you got to get more out of Corposalo here. Yeah. No, and I agree. Like you look at just the the margin for error where if you are the Bruins and you’re trying to maximize your talent on this team and also maximize cap space, that’s where the question is to your point. If you got 11 million goalender rotation, how much different would it be if you had it, you know, shaved down to, you know, 9 million or or nine and a half if it’s just one of the DPH rows or I can never pronounce his name. I’m very sorry to our good friend. I call him Travis Zjack because I know it kind of sounds similar to that, but it’s not I for I forget how to actually pronounce his name, but um if it’s I I’m not I’m honestly not sure because I think the I didn’t see him in the preseason. I was in Chicago when he was on the team. So I was like I was like I I I didn’t get the chance to meet him and say like hey how do you say your name by the way? Right. Exactly. So if it’s one of those guys right like one you’d save the cap space and it also comes down to can one of those guys be better than an 875 Zach. Zach that would that would make zichek zichek yeah zichek according to the Bruins that’s what they say. Yeah. So, I mean, you you look at if one of those guys comes in and can be better than 875 a goalie. Like, can can they do that? It’s kind of the same thing with like you look at what Brennan Busy’s doing with Carolina. And I get like Carolina’s a very structured team. Like, that’s an easier runway I think for a goalie, but like how much of a lift would it be if just a DPHR or something like that gives you 8.95 say percentage? You probably want more, but like better than what Copra solo is, and you’re saving cat’s face along the way. So, I agree. You desperately need like corporate solid to start figuring things out because that is one of the areas where the Bruins could make some tweaks, especially if it opens up more cap space down the road. And if all of a sudden one of those guys hits like one of your Providence goalies, and you can go into next year with like a backup, making minimal money, that’s pretty good. That that’s all of a sudden you’re in a pretty good spot as far as just utilizing asset management as opposed to where it is right now where got 11 million uh tied up to the goalending. a great number one, but again, you just need a little bit more from your backup, I think, moving forward. Right. And and you know, I I don’t want to put it all on the goending, but if you look at the teams that are like the bonafide great teams in the NHL, I I think with the exception of maybe um you know, may like maybe a couple they all have pretty stable goalending situations, right? like and they or they have two guys that they can rely on because this is what the schedule is dictating, you know, like like Colorado, I think they they’re an incredible team, right? And we’re we’re talking about Nate McKinnon and Kale Mari Lechin, like all these guys have been fantastic, right? But they got Wedgwood and Blackwood who’ve been phenomenal for them all year long, right? And so, and that’s what the Bruins when you have a tandem that’s making $11 million combined over 11 million, that’s what you’re hoping for. You’re hoping that you’re essentially putting out a number one goalender every night, which they have with one guy, but not the other, right? And and Corposal is never going to be perfect, but I think we all agree that I think we said it in a preseason preview podcast, like give me a 905 and I’m happy. Like, give me a 905. Like, an 875 not going to get it done. I mean, that’s kind of what derailed the Bruins in 1617 where um it it was um it was Zayn McIntyre and and and Hudobin and Hudobin was playing so bad they waved him down at Providence. He got his game in order and then they fired close Julian. They then they bring in Bruce Cassie. They bring up Hudobin. Um and then Hudin catches fire at the end of the year. But like for the first half of the season, their backups were posting like an 880, an 870. like they weren’t getting enough and they had to play Tuka a lot. And so like that’s something that you know if this team is probably close to that 161 17 team where they are you know going to be a wild card team or third place their division you’re going to need quality starts out of your number two and right now I don’t think they’re getting enough of them um out of Corpusal to this point right now. Yeah. No, no, I agree. You need a little bit more. So, we’ll see if uh whether it’s in Detroit or against St. Louis moving forward whenever Corpusol draws back in, how we can respond moving forward. Um Ty, we’re going to talk a little bit more about injuries hitting this team. A few guys that are continuing to step up for the Bruins during this short-handed stretch, but before we do that, let’s take a quick break here from our good friends over at Prize Fix. This episode is brought to you by Prize Pix. It’s the holiday season, the best time of the year for sports, bowl games, basketball matchups, playoff pushes, it’s all happening at once. 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I’m taking the QB for more than 300 passing yards in week 13 against New York. So download the Price app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS on the Price Fix app to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Price Fix, it’s good to be right. Shout out once again to our good friends over at Price Picks. Uh Ty, when you look at the state of this team and especially the injury bug, we know Charlie Makavoy is still sidelined. A positive step forward that he was at least skating on Saturday morning. So still, I think has a long way to go before he’s cleared or anything like that beyond just the the the messed up jaw, the fact that he’s also lost a ton of weight. I don’t know how much cowoon he was able to eat with his uh father-in-law on Thanksgiving, but um obviously a lot that he has to do just to even get back in the realm of being available for game action moving forward. But for the more pressing issue right now has to be David Posnock missing two games in a row after not missing a game since what the end of the 2122 season I believe. So a guy that has been durable, a guy that when he does miss his games, yeah, is a bit of a red flag. So, what were you going to say? I don’t even think he I think the last the last game he missed I don’t even think was necessarily um injury related. I think that was that game against Toronto where they they brought up like the entire P Bruins team to play the Maple Leafs because the game meant nothing. Um and they were they were locked into that game against the series against Carolina. So, I feel think the last time he missed a game it was just the Bruins scratching their entire roster, not taking any chances uh with getting hurt before the playoffs. Um, so he’s been Yeah. He’s been a model of health and that’s what I mean that that’s what is most I don’t want to say upsetting because that’s that’s way too dramatic, but like that’s what you’re like he’s never been hurt before. You haven’t experienced this in a long time it feels like for the Boston Bruins. Yeah. And I think when you look at the injury that everyone’s identified now where you see it at the, you know, the final minutes of that game on Wednesday where he kind of pushes off there. I don’t know if it’s a groin or what it is, but that’s one where even if it is a day-to-day thing, not great. Uh especially for a guy that is obviously we don’t have to talk all that much about how important David Posic is to the Bruins, but that’s one where you hope he’s able to come back in a timely fashion healthy most importantly. You don’t want him to be something that’s nagging and bothering him for an extended stretch and it really saps away some of his his talent level because if this team is going to exceed expectations and be a competitive team, you’re going to have to rely on your your cheat code on offense and David Posigi is doing his best, but you can’t rely on him every single night even though he’s trying to dispel that narrative. You need David Posnook back and playing at a high level moving forward. Yeah, I think you look at their you look at their uh these last these last two games like three out of the last four goals been scored by Morgan Geeki. Um I think Friday kind of highlighted how difficult it is without Morgan Geek without David Posterno rather. Um their best offense was really on point shots and hoping for a tip, right? Like it becomes very formulaic. It becomes very uh difficult. Now you can score goals the ugly way that they’ve done it before. They can do it again. Um, but you don’t have that gamebreaking all it takes is one bounce, the puck’s going the other way and and and boom, you know, you have a goal. Like cuz that’s like like they weren’t playing well on Friday. We can all agree, right? Like they have 12 shots through 40 minutes. But what if over those 40 minutes you get one bounce and David Posn knocks off for the races and he goes top shelf on Igor Sturken. Now there’s life in the building, there’s life on the bench, you know, there’s more pep in your step. Like that’s what makes players like him so valuable is beyond the point production. It’s that they can turn nothing into something in the blink of an eye and now the whole game is flipped upside down, right? Like that’s and that’s why he’s an elite talent. That’s what makes him an elite player in this league. And so when you don’t have that, it becomes more of a grind, right? And and it looked like on on Saturday, it looked like they weren’t going to be able to get to that game once again. The first period, the Red Wings played with such high tempo, right, that the Bruins really couldn’t get to their grind game because Detroit wasn’t allowing it. Detroit was was playing really fast hockey and the Bruins were late to arrive physically in terms of dictating the pace of play in that way. Now, the Castelic fight on Cider really flipped things on its head there, but it was looking like it was going to be more of the same for the Bruins. And so, you know, that’s going to be the challenge for them. I think teams know that without posture, if you play uptempo against this Bruins team, you’re probably going to be okay most of the time. They don’t have a lot of guys that can keep up uh keep up speedwise. And so that’s going to be the challenge, I think, without David Posnock is dictating the pace of play the way the Bruins want to because that is that is something that this team is not really built to do is play that go go style of hockey. Yeah, without a doubt. And even by that same token, as far as the speed, you’re still, I think, clearly missing a guy like Victor Iverson, a guy who at the start of the year, you’re like, “All right, is this guy cooked?” Right? Like still got the legs, but the shots not there. But, you know, over that two week stretch before he goes down with the injury was a key piece for your team that I think you really miss kind of his speed and what he’s provided like as even as like a you’re definitely missing a quick strike offense with obviously poster knockout, but even a guy like Arvdson. I know that Arvdson skated before practice on Saturday as well. I don’t know if his timeline has changed at all, but that’s also a guy that you desperately need back because it’s it’s very funny when you look at where we were in September looking at this roster and being like, man, who’s going to step up now? And now it’s almost like, oh, thank God middle set’s back. When’s Arbertson getting back? like you’re seeing all these guys that have exceeded expectations for a team that um you know as uh disjointed as the roster has been, you’ve seen certain guys click, especially I think that second line before they all got injured. Um and you just desperately need some of that secondary scoring back because you can’t just rely on the Jano Minton Castic line to be the guy the team bringing you energy throughout this stretch here. You need more to help these guys getting back. And um without Pasarak and Arbertson, you’re desperately missing some of your top snipers for sure. Yeah. And and listen, credit to Casey Middlead for jumping back into the lineup without a practice, right? And credit to Pablo Zaka for playing at less than 100% clearly. Um you know, they kept him away from faceoffs all night, right? And and then Elias Lholm takes a penalty in overtime and Zaka wants to be out there. He wants to take the face offs despite you know not taking them all night and clearly being limited by a lower body upper body injury rather and you know he takes the face offs he he grinds out what’s basically like the full two-minute kill almost like just the way he was out there and you know they had other guys he could put in that spot but Zako wanted to be that guy and so you know I asked Durm about that after the game and and he said like he he said that he had to thank middlead for doing what he did on Friday basically jumping in and you know at less than 100% not playing for for a few weeks and you know he does it and he he plays well he scores a goal I thought he was good on f on Saturday night as well and so guys want to contribute guys want to step up without posternock without Makavoy and it really speaks to you know how this team is I feel like a year ago guys were almost disengaged because of how bad the team was and there we go again right like that yeah and they were kind of sometimes they were letting pride get in the way of of the team, right? Like we we suck, you know? We we we can’t do anything right. And I look like [ __ ] right now. And I don’t like that for me. I feel like guys this year are much more like they understand that they’re up against it, right? In terms of like the projections outside of their outside of their room, but they they want to step up. They want to have a good game. They want to go above and beyond for the first year head coach. And I think that’s been very noticeable is that just the will on this team is a lot higher than it was a year ago. And that’s where, you know, I think the Bruins were right. I think the Bruins were right. Like the front office was right saying, “We want to be a harder route out.” They have built a team that is a harder out. That the mentality is totally different this year than it was a year ago. Even some of the same guys that are still with this team just feels like their mentality is a lot different than it was last year. Yeah. A lot more swagger it feels like. Right. a lot more of I think it goes back to I think how Lash’s team had such a identity crisis or they didn’t even have an identity where it’s not like when your game’s not going your way if you individually are struggling or anything like that. Um you know you don’t have an identity to lean back on like well we can play our game right we can we can stick to our principles we can do all these sorts of things to help kind of uh write the ship. Last year’s team was like just floating out into the float out into the ocean. They didn’t have any like way or principles they can lean on. And this team very much, I think, has that like, hey, we’re not the most talented team, but [ __ ] it, right? We’re going to like land our hits. We’re going to punch you in the mouth and you can try to keep up with us because we’re going to grind you down and we’ve got a great goalender that can keep us afloat. So, uh, yeah, it’s the very much the piss and vinegar Bruins has been there. And I think even look at the the game on Saturday, right? Like you have uh Detroit outskating you in the first and then Castle uses Moiders’s face as a punching bag. You had Jano landing hits and like they grinded you down and you had your big guns keep you afloat swaming and geeky and is it sustainable? No. But you’re winning games that way and I think you’re seeing I think a lot of guys buy into it. I know Craig Button’s probably in shambles that Casey Middlestad is grinding through an injury coming back early to um help out his team. But I think you’re just seeing a lot of that buyin. I think that’s promising to see for a team that, yeah, maybe they don’t have the most talent, but they’re competitive. They’re playing for each other. Even before the game kind of went off the rails at the very end of that Rangers game, it felt like they were clawing back into that one as well, right? Like they don’t let games snowball away from them, you know, even down four to the Rangers. They made it interesting. So, I think it’s encouraging to see from a team that I think knows how they have to play. doesn’t mean it’s they’re going to execute it every night, but they kind of have the script, right? And they can kind of stick to it. You have guys buying in that want to be physical, want to make an impact, want to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them, and I think you’re seeing that kind of play out consistently this year, which I think is so huge for this team. Yeah. And I would say since the losing streak, since they ended the losing streak rather, um they’ve they’ve been good at bouncing back. you know, that’s once once they put that six game losing streak behind them, when they had a bad game, they would typ they typically win the next game out, you know, like they like they’ve been pretty good at just finding a way to get results, right? Like I I think that that game on Saturday was a really great example of just finding a way to get a result, you know, like they they survived a heavy storm from Detroit in the third period and and even in the shootout, I’m not going to lie to you, hand up. I was expecting them to lose because you see that lineup that you mentioned, Raymond De Brinket, um Patrick Kane, you’re like, “Okay, they’re going to they might score three in a row.” Like they like they got those kind of guys in their lineup. Like come on now. Um but they they find a way, right? And and that is how this team is going to kind of have to operate. I’ve always used the term survivalist team. Like they’re a survivalist kind of team. Like just find a way to get points, find a way to get the result and and you see what happens. And I feel like they have like what’s different about this team versus last year is that I think last year’s team didn’t have confidence in any one area, right? Like they were bad on the PK. They were bad five on five. They were bad on the power play. They were bad in overtime. They were bad in the shootout. They didn’t have anything they they could hang their hat on and go, “Well, we’re good at this.” Like what were they good at? They were good at posture and geeky. That was it. That was a year ago. Um this year they’ve had an elite power play for much of the season. Um they’ve had great PK. They’ve been great in overtimes. So, situationally, I just think there’s more confidence. There’s more swagger, as you put it, that they can be put in situation X, Y, and Z and feel confident, whereas a year ago, they didn’t feel confident in any situation. And and I think that that’s that’s coaching, right? That’s attitude. That is guys wanting to be in there, wanting to make an impact. And and why do you want to why do you feel that way? Because you have confidence. And I think that’s I mean, listen, is it sustainable? We’re going to have to wait and see, right? Like a lot of models still don’t like the Boston Bruins in terms of making the playoffs. But your models don’t take into account swagger and they don’t take into account confidence. They don’t take into account that you know that attitude of Yeah, we’ll be fine. We’ve done this before. We’ll do this again. And that’s what they have right now. It’s it’s it’s this is where the math can sometimes fool you. It really can. Yeah, without a doubt. Yeah. And it’s been fun to watch this team, I think, so far this year. They’re scrappy. They’ve got other guys stepping up. It’s not as far as you know, you look at the big guns that have been key for Yes. as some as Ryan says, what is the P&V metric? We are still trying to tabulate the actual stats for it, but when you see the the guys that are stepping up um beyond just the poss. It’s been I think if you’re a Bruins fan, especially coming off of last year, it’s a team that’s worth your time, I think, right? Like they they work, they compete, they’re fun to watch. You’re seeing younger guys step up. You’re seeing, I think, other players that whenever the Bruins come out of this rebuild, retool, whatever it may be, you’re already seeing, I think, a lot of guys that are establishing themselves as part of that winning equation moving forward, which I think is encouraging. Um, and there was another comment I saw, uh, Ty, I think about 15 minutes ago, Merculov got assigned back down to Providence. So, I do wonder what that means as far as is someone else getting called up. Is Abertson coming back? That also is something worth keeping tabs on because obviously I know he was scratched for VL on Saturday. But if even a guy like Arbitson is getting closer or something like that or they’re changing things around that also be a welcome uh a welcome addition. Yeah, the Bruins were saying that there’s still no timeline on Arvidson. Uh they were pretty they were pretty adamant that like he’s not he’s not close just yet. Um but they do get VL back on on Saturday night. Uh, so they did have between Tuy and and and Vel like they they they had enough to go there. Um, yeah, it’s a great question. I like Arbertson given how important he is and given how weird that injury looked, I’m I’m cool to take my time with him. Um, because you don’t want him coming back and then going back out. Um, but yeah, he could be he could be next to come back. Uh, and that’d be that’d be a big boost for this team. Yeah, Merkel. I I I don’t get I I don’t get it. I don’t get what I I just I I So, you call him up. He’s a left shot. He’s played left wing all year. You call him up to play right wing. Why? Like like what are we doing here? That doesn’t make that didn’t make any damn sense to me. Whatever. It’s over now. He’s back in Providence. But I feel like, you know, he kind of is what he is at this point. I think he’s a quad A player who doesn’t process the game fast enough at the NHL level. And I don’t think you’re doing him any favors by having him play rightwing when he’s playing left wing in the minors. That’s just I that’s my own feeling on it. But another look at him, another kind of nothing kind of game. And we’ll see if we see him again this year. Yep. Moving forward, we’ll see what the next step is, especially on Monday where there should be hopefully a lot of updates as far as the multiple guys that are banged up and we’ll get a little bit more clarity moving forward. I think if anything, Merkel going down to Providence might be a positive sign for Posternok. you know, who did who did skate on Friday, you know, he did skate on Friday morning before the game. Um, they didn’t have a morning skate or anything like that, but but he was out there and I think with David Poserno, like they will they will take him at 80%, you know, over Arvdson at 80% if that makes sense. say I think that logic might be a little backwards because I don’t want to risk a setback with a guy like 88, but um his his track record of playing, you know, 270 games in a row like kind of allows you to be more like, well, you know, we trust him that he knows what he’s doing here. Yeah, for sure. So, we’ll see what the updates are on Monday. Uh Ty, before we wrap things up, again, want to give a shout out to the CNS Media Network. Again, if you have time, please subscribe to the Bruins Rinkad YouTube channel. pretty much daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins Beat, Pucks with Hags. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins season. So, please subscribe over at YouTube and follow us over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever else you get your hockey podcast. And it’s not just Bruins over at CNS. You can also subscribe to Patriots Press Pass. Celtics all access. The whole crew over at CNN does a phenomenal job. Keep you updated every single day for all the happenings going on with the Patriots and Celtics. So, please subscribe to all of the various channels. uh run by the CENS media network. Uh, Ty, as we wrap things up, um, and you look at guys that are stepping up, especially with players being hurt, I want to give a shout out to Alex Steves, who I think you see, you know, you’ve seen other guys, you’ve seen guys like Kusendino step up and the opportunities that guy like Marurm has given him, but Steve’s being a guy that was a productive AHL player. Um, never got a chance really with Toronto and then he kind of just plays his game. He adjusts to what is asked of him, right? Like he’s a a guy that has a profile of being a 30 goal scorer in the AHL. Comes up in his first couple of games like leads the team in hits, I think three out of his first four games, right? Like contributes on the PK. Obviously has that short-handed goal as part of a two-goal effort on in uh on Long Island. And I think he had another pretty good game on Saturday against Detroit, right? Draws a penalty, I believe. like seems like he’s a guy that is really kind of solidifying his spot as, you know, a a reliable Swiss Army knife for the Bruins that yeah, maybe he’s more of a bottom six guy, but he’s carving out a spot for this team. And I think clearly Marco Sturm, you know, he’s earning Marco Sturm’s trust moving forward here. So, I think he’s a guy that on a team that’s had a lot of guys step up and take advantage of an opportunity in front of him, I think he deserves a stick tap for really kind of uh, you know, solidifying a spot as of late. Oh, yeah. I mean, he’s a lock now, I think, for the roster. I I I don’t think he’s going to get sent back down to the minors. Um I I do think this is a player who has proven capable of contributing at a top in a top six role or a bottom six role. Um he might be your third line winger. you know, once this team is fully if and when this team is fully healthy, you move Castelick back down to the fourth line and and you you know, you have Steves there with with with Jano and and Minton and and so I I he’s been a guy who just gets it, right? Like some guys like they come up and you have to tailor the minutes for them and the role for them. I think Battl is an example of that where you look at him and you say we’re going to get something out of him or if we get something out of him um it’s going to be in a top six role in power play one whereas Steve they say we can put him anywhere and he’s going to give us the same kind of motor the same kind of energy the same kind of knowhow all over the lineup and I think that’s those are the players that like the Bruins have been really good at at identifying under Don Sweeney. Um go back to Riley Nash, go back to Tim Shaller. Um they they have been Yoke Nordstrom even like guys that can move up and down your lineup, give you the same effort whether it’s line one or line four. Um and those players are valuable. Damas Nosk’s a great example of that as well. I think you know where where situationally they’re okay anywhere, right? Um and so I I think that with Steve’s like you look at him on Friday, he had a great game. He didn’t have results. He had a great game I thought on Friday. He was constantly creating. You look at him last night, he should have drawn two penalties. He draws one. He hits the crossbar on on a great one-time in the first period. Like, he’s been all over the ice. He has been all over the ice. They’re incorporating him into the PK, which I think is huge because that you can never have enough killers on this team when they take a billion penalties a game. And he’s been good on the PK. That’s most important. He’s been good there. So, he has carved out, in my opinion, a full-time role on this team and in this lineup right now. Yeah. Yeah. He deserves a lot of credit for a guy that again, it’s not it’s not easy to go from what your profile is as an AHL like top six scoring forward, right, to then adjust to different roles on the fly. And he’s done it seamlessly. So, I think he deserves a whole bunch of credit for, you know, rolling with the punches of what’s required to, you know, plant your flag at the NHL level and then build up into it. like he might be a a bottom six guy right now, but like maybe he expands his role moving forward. Maybe he’s a guy that you pencil in next year as your third line guy and gives you, you know, 14 goals or something like that, right? But it’s it’s all about staking your claim right away, finding a role on a team, ingratiating yourself to a coach to build that trust. And I think he’s done that so far. That’s the template I think a lot of players need to follow as far as how they can, you know, get up to the NHL and stick around. And I think he deserves a lot of credit for it because it it ain’t easy to kind of change your identity and how you play on the fly like that, but he’s done it so far. Yeah. And think about guys that like they’ve taken similar kind of chances on over the years, right? Like think about guys like Jason Magna or Anthony Rashard or um who was the other one? Vanilla. Like like they come up and you’re like uh okay sure that’s fine. like he’s alreadycliped those players in terms of like NHL impact, you know, being being a tweener but getting a chance up here and making count like he’s already been better than those players here in Boston. And I understand that’s not like a that’s not like a huge list of, you know, or challenge be better than those guys, but like you know there’s so many of those guys that cycle through a franchise like I think about Max Jones and Riley Tuy a year ago um where they come up and you’re like okay they’ve been good in the minors and their first round picks like maybe they’ll be something and and they really weren’t. And so I I I think with guys like Steve’s like opportunity is everything and and really being a Swiss Army knife is is is super valuable. And I think Steve’s like I’ve been impressed with with the PK like I mentioned it earlier but like the PK contributions have been fantastic. And so that’s something that again you’re just building your repertoire. You’re building your resume. You’re you’re you know it’s it’s it’s like I got this skill, I got that skill and I can do this. And if you’re a coach, you’re like, “Oh my god, where you been my whole life?” You know, like like it you love those kind of players. And he’s looking like that kind of guy. Yep. No, without a doubt. So deserves to kudos to their, you know, whoever it is for them that does their AHL scouting and finds these guys that are kind of like they’re like they’re the perfect tweener where you don’t know if they’re an NHLer or an AHL, but you know they have a skill set that you can use. like they deserve a lot of credit in my opinion. Whoever that is that’s doing that for them in the minors. Um has been really good at finding those kind of players. Again, going back to Tim Sher, who I think is probably the best example of that, a guy who didn’t have a ton of NHL run, but was a player that you looked at and said, “You can use this guy.” Yeah. Yeah. And he was he was at one point he was a second line player for the Boston Bruins and was actually pretty pretty decent in that role. Yeah. The Bruins just got to find those granite guys, right? You got like I know I know Steve’s kind of was born in Minnesota but grew up his childhood was up in New Hampshire as well. So they got to find the more of those granite men up there. Yeah. Yeah. Ex that is actually a great point. New Hampshire is the real is the real key that that’s that’s the thing they got to focus in on. Exactly. And as we wrap this up one up uh as well just as a quick note um shout out to the Bruins uh pro scouting staff because they found Morgan Geeky who at this point like yeah he’s going to score like 45 goals. It’s I I don’t know if you delve too much into it, but it is nuts at this point. Like I Yeah, he’s a 40 goal scorer who I did not see this one. I thought there’s a good chance he could be a 25 to 30 goal scorer, but I don’t know, man. It’s It’s nuts right now what he’s doing it. Yeah, I thought he had a great quote. He had a great quote after the game on Saturday where he was asked about tying Nathan McKinnon again and he’s it was like, “How do you feel about that?” He’s like, “I’m not supposed to be here.” Like he’s like, “I’m not supposed to be here.” You know, and and think about it, right? Like the last four guys the last four guys in Bruins franchise history to have 20 goals in the first 27 games of the season. The geeky joined that club on Saturday. David Posnock, Cam Neely, Peter McNab, and Phyllis Mazito. Like, think about that club that you’re in. That’s a pretty damn good club, right? And it’s now been a calendar year of him being this player. At a certain point, we have to acknowledge that he might just be this player. And, you know, this is more than a hot month. It’s more than a hot four months. It’s it’s been a hot calendar year. It’s been a whole year now. And so I I just feel like what makes him so unique, and we’ve talked about this before, is just the way he scores goals. It’s netfront, it’s from distance, it’s one-timers, it is between the circles. Like he is not a onetrick pony. This is a player who And by the way, now he’s scoring without David Posternok. So he’s putting that theory to bed as well. And so like this is just who he is at a certain point. And I I think you know the Bruins have struck gold here. I I mean it’s just it’s unbelievable the way that that Seattle non-tendered the guy. They just non-tendered him and and it’s just like now he’s filling your lap and you might have a piece here. I mean you I wouldn’t say might. You do have a piece here for your future. Yeah. No, it’s been huge. And as you said uh when I talked to him on Wednesday about you know does he still read the criticism and all those things because I was like yeah you know it’s got to imagine it’s lightened up a little bit. He said oh no I still read everything you know and people call me a pasta merchant. Then he scored three goals with him out of the lineup in the last two games. So, uh, he’s been he’s been unbelievable. I don’t know what else there’s really to say about him, but I don’t see the drop off coming anytime soon for a guy. And if you’re the Bruins and you are in this retool and this guy falls into your lap and is a top six legitimate player that even if next year he’s not a 50 goal guy, I’ll put him in for 30 goals moving forward. That’s a pretty damn good player you have. So, uh, he’s been just phenomenal and doesn’t seem like he’s slowing up anytime soon, which is huge for the Bruins. And I got to say, like, you know, I I I I take the tea to go to to Bruins games. I I I I try to do that. Um, I got to tell you, Green Line, lot of lot of geeky jerseys, man. I couldn’t believe it. Usually, I’m used to seeing the Pasta, the the Berseron, the Martian, the Swayman. Uh, I saw like five to 10 geeky jerseys yesterday. out outside the arena and I was like damn that’s how you know that like you know you got something here is that now you’re seeing your jerseys you know everywhere you look and so I mean people are buying in and why why shouldn’t they? He’s been this good for so long and I I I think that you know it’s really impressive the way that that he’s been able to just be so unique and versatile in terms of how he scores his goals. That’s what’s been super impressive. Yeah, absolutely. Uh Mr. Poe, thank you. Thank you very much for the donation. And yeah, as far as getting something for Corporalo, maybe the Oilers call in a little bit later, but I think you need Corbasal to play a little bit better for them to take him. But can they even can they can they even afford him? Can they That’s also true. Yeah. I don’t know. We talk about um the Oilers and the fact that they let you know DPH and all these guys sneak by them on waiverss. just like that is a team that just I know they what shut out Seattle, another great team that let 50 goal scorer uh Moen Gigi walk out the door, but that team like deserves to rot cuz I I can’t stand the Oilers. That’s such a a bootleg ass team that is just propped up by two generational talents. But yeah, this is this is our this is our Oilers, man. How much we hate the Oilers, but I I I don’t want them to ever win a Stanley Cup while ignoring goalending. I I think it’s such an affront to everything I believe in. As a as a hockey fan and as a hockey writer, I think you have to prioritize goalending. I think you have to pri prioritize having a more complete team. The Oilers are an affront to nature. I do not like them. I do not respect them and I want them to never win a Stanley Cup. So, that’s how I feel. Yes. Absolutely. No, I think we’re all in the same I think we’re all in the same boat there. Ty, uh Ty, as we uh get ready to let you go, where can we read you stuff? Where can we hear in the airwaves? All that good stuff. Yeah, you can find me at 98pubportsub.com and you can uh you can read my work uh all there and and you can hear me on the radio there every Saturday morning 9 to 11 a.m. The Shaw and Star Market Hockey Show, myself, Bob Beers, Ryan Johnston, the voices of the Boston Bruins Radio Network. Uh we did a show yesterday. It was awesome. Uh Ryan was back in studio which was great because it wasn’t just me solo and riffing for two hours which I really I don’t mind doing but I don’t love it either. Uh but you can find me there. And next week we’ll have Bob Beers in studio for the full show. So that’d be great. One of the best hockey minds in the business. He’s so good at analyzing games. Uh so that’s where you can find me. How about yourself? Yeah, you can read my stuff over at the Boston Globe and Boston.com. We have covered every step of the way this bruin season was just on a road trip down uh down in Long Island was great. Being on the road getting some stories, working on a few features as well um that I’m excited to knock out in the next couple of weeks. So you can read all my stuff over there on those two sites. Please subscribe over there. And if you want to follow me on Twitter X, whatever it’s called these days, you can at Connor Ryan_93. Uh, Ty, thank you once again for joining us for episode 381 of Poke the Bear. Again, if you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. It’s part of the CNS Media Network. And again, this episode is brought to you by Prize Pix, the best way to win cash this football season. Download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. My name is Connor Ryan. That is Ty Anderson. You fans have a great rest of your week.

On this LIVE episode of Poke the Bear, Conor Ryan & Ty Anderson recap yesterday’s clash between the Bruins and Detroit Red Wings that saw the B’s win 3-2 in a shootout. They look at Jeremy Swayman’s play of late and look at the latest injury news for the Bruins.

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