Boston Bruins: Cassidy Tinkering With Lines Against Sharks
Boston Bruins interim Head Coach Bruce Cassidy will lead his first game Thursday against the San Jose Sharks. The lines have been shuffled, in hopes of creating an offensive spark.
After the firing of Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy will begin his tenure as the interim Head Coach of the Boston Bruins. The Bruins will face the San Jose Sharks at home in the TD Garden. Coach Cassidy has already begun changing things from the Julien era, starting with the lines. On Thursday night, Boston will throw out the old pairings, and try out some new. According to Cassidy, the lines still are not set in stone.
"“The lines are fluid right now,” said Cassidy. “We’re looking for what’s going to be the best for the team, without ripping everything apart.”"
Against the Sharks the lines will be:
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Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Backes
Matt Beleskey – David Krejci – David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano – Ryan Spooner – Jimmy Hayes
Tim Schaller – Dominic Moore – Riley Nash
David Backes will move into the top line, and hopefully Bergeron and Marchand can get him going.
Coach Cassidy is hoping the rattling of the lines will fire up his team. Boston is currently on the outside looking in to the playoffs. Boston is looking for a win to start the new era, and hopefully they can tally a couple W’s on their way back into a playoff spot. The Bruins will also be without defenseman Zdeno Chara, who will miss the game due to illness. Kevan Miller will likely pair with Brandon Carlo for the night, while John-Michael Liles gets inserted with Colin Miller.
As the snow falls across Boston, let’s hope a fire is lit inside TD Garden. The Bruins need to get on a roll, and there is no better time than now. The Sharks will present a tough matchup, especially with no Chara on the ice to shut down center Joe Thornton.
Face-off is less than 30 minutes away, so bundle up, tune in, and root for a Boston Bruins win to begin the Bruce Cassidy era.