PHILADELPHIA — The Boston Bruins? Not that good anymore. Maybe even a shadow of that team the Flyers beat after being down 3-0 in a Stanley Cup playoff series a few years (OK, more than that) ago, and the one that came back and won the Stanley Cup the very next year (2011).
True, the Bruins have several players from those teams still hanging around, though star forward David Krejci is injured and missed Wednesday night’s game against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
That’s only one reason the Bruins should be struggling, and coming into the Flyers game they were in fifth place in the Atlantic Division. They were also 21-15-5, which means they’re a few notches above the Flyers in the race for an Eastern Conference wild card spot at around the midpoint of the season. What’s so special about that ranking for the Bruins is that they’re only there because of special teams.
Even with Krejci out, the B’s came into the game at No. 1 in the league in power play efficiency, clicking on 28.1 percent of their power play attempts. They also excel in penalty kill, ranking seventh in the league in that category.
Compare that to a Flyers team that has been near the bottom of both categories basically all season long and you see the difference between a Bruins team that probably shouldn’t be where it is and a Flyers team that would like to get where the Bruins are when it comes to special teams.
“Special teams have been a downfall in some of our games,” goalie Steve Mason said Wednesday, referring to the Flyers’ rankings of 28th in power play and 24th in penalty kill. “We know that we need to be better at it. The special teams now in the NHL are so important. You can’t have a bad penalty kill and a bad power play on a nightly basis. ... This year we’ve struggled with it. It might be the position we’re in because of it.”
Of course, there is a sentiment in the Philadelphia locker room these days that basically everything’s getting better — the team, its level of consistency, its record and place in the standings, et. al.
But what of special teams?
“We’re still getting great chances,” Jake Voracek said. “We haven’t scored as much as in the past but we’re still getting great chances. We just have to find a way to score.
“If we do the things we’re capable of and we’re doing things that everybody knows what to do, then (penalty killers) can’t defend it. ... We have so many options there that if we execute it well it’s hard to stop us.”
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Nick Schultz said he’d have family and friends in to see him play his 1,000th career NHL game Wednesday night against the Bruins. He feels fortunate to put on a show for them.
Schultz, 33, seemed to be at his career nadir when the Flyers offered him a one-year free agency deal in 2014. He understood he’d be coming in as an extra defender.
“I had the chance to sign on with Philly as a depth guy and was just fortunate there were some injuries and I got a chance to play and kind of keep going,” Schultz said. “It’s a good feeling to still be going on. You have to constantly keep proving yourself and prove your game. Regardless of what’s going on you have to play hard and show you can play.
“If that wouldn’t have happened I wouldn’t have had the chance to hit (1,000), necessarily.”
Schultz was re-signed last summer to a two-year deal with the Flyers.
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A lot of time has passed since Zac Rinaldo apologized to his old Flyers teammate Sean Couturier for knocking him silly the last time the two got together. That was Oct. 21 in Boston. In that prior meeting, Couturier was along the boards, and Rinaldo, the former Flyers fireplug who was traded last June to Boston for a 2017 third-round draft pick, did to Couturier what he does best...
He knocked him silly.
Rinaldo would be excused with a game misconduct, but a day later would not be suspended by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and Random Discipline. But even before that ruling came down, Rinaldo had already offered his regrets to Couturier, who would subsequently miss six games with a concussion.
“Hockey is hockey,” Rinaldo said. “It’s physical. ... And hitting is part of the game. Unfortunately, he got hurt on the play.”
That’s the only part of that play that Rinaldo regrets.
“I texted him immediately,” he said of Courturier. “As soon as I got kicked out I texted him to make sure he was OK. The last thing I want to do is hurt anybody.” source:thereporteronline
