Nordstrom to Get Continued Look on Second Line

BOSTON - The Bruins gathered at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday for a day of practice squeezed between a pair of games. On Friday, the Bruins downed the Edmonton Oilers 4-1. The team was bolstered by a pregame lineup adjustment made by head coach Bruce Cassidy that saw him slot offseason acquisition Joakim Nordstrom in on the second line. Ryan Donato came out of the lineup.
Nordstrom rewarded Cassidy with the games third goal, and the second lines first tally of the season. On Saturday, Nordstrom will back on Krejci's left wing agains the Red Wings.

"He'll play there tomorrow," said Cassidy. "…We brought Nordy [Joakim Nordstrom] in, I'll tell you, we knew he could play down in the lineup. He played up a bit in Carolina. Could he toggle up and down? Yes. Is he a long term there? … We had a plan this summer. Whether that was [Ryan] Donato, [Danton] Heinen, kind of Bjorkie [Anders Bjork] in that mix, so skill guys.
"We'd like to see them grow into that spot. It could take a month, it could take a year, it could take a week. Right now Nordy looked good there, he'll stay there tomorrow."
While a number of the younger players offer offensive upside. Nordstrom's dependability provided him the opportunity.
"I think he adds a level of veteran responsibility to that line as well," said Cassidy. "That helps if he can finish some plays and maybe stays there because that's what you want out of that spot, some offensive production. That's what we thought the other guys would be a little bit ahead of him. We'll see how it all plays out. I think it's too early to write a guy off."
Nordstrom had success against the Oilers, but the lines will continue to be evaluated.
"Going forward," said Cassidy. "It'll sort itself out is the way to look at it. I do believe we have lots of good players. Some of them are still searching for their game obviously. I believe they'll find it. And [we'll see] then how they stack up after."

On The Off Wing

With Joakim Nordstrom bumped up to the second line left wing position, Jake DeBrusk was put on the right side. While DeBrusk has not seen much time on the right in the NHL, he does have a bit of past experience.
"I played it junior and a little bit in Providence as well," said DeBrusk. "I played it growing up and pretty confident on that side. But it's a different animal obviously going into a game. There's a couple time I noticed myself wandering onto the left side when we go back into the zone. Quickly hustled to my side but I like it. I think there is a couple plays where I gave it away on my backhand and just have to kind of get used to the position.
"Trying to stay on your forehand as much as possible and that's something that Butch [Bruce Cassidy] has talked about, talked to me about a little bit. I think I can use my speed and attack off my off side. Hopefully it gives me more chances to get to the middle and get a shot off and start a forecheck."
Cassidy also discussed the challenges that plying the off wing presents.
"The challenge would be through the neutral zone you're exposing the puck when you're on your offside," said Cassidy. "I think guys that can separate quicker will have an easier time getting between the back pressure and the D that is staying up. That's the first thing that on the offside someone of the other guys we've moved were struggling a little bit. I thought he handled that well. That'll be the first challenge."

While there may be some difficulty, DeBrusk was effective in his first try at it.
"I thought he played well on that line," said Cassidy. "He won a puck battle that led to Nordstrom's goal with [Edmonton forward Milan] Lucic. Ends up, Nordstrom picks it up, they both won a battle. I thought he got his shot off from that side … I thought he did a good job for that line last night. No issues. Obviously we'd like to see him get on the scoresheet with a goal. I think he'd be the first to tell you that, but I'm sure that'll happen."

Donato Possible

After being a healthy scratch on Thursday for the first time this season, Cassidy discussed the likelihood of him returning to the lineup.
"He'll probably come in," said Cassidy. "We're trying not to keep young guys out for extended periods of time. It will happen. Eventually it will have to come around to some level of consistency, but I assume he'll go in tomorrow. We worked him into the second power play group today so that's kind of what we're looking at."

Opposing Views

The Bruins will face off with a Red Wings team in search of their first victory of the season. Detroit dropped a 5-3 tilt on Thursday to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is now 0-2-2 on the season with OT losses to the Blue Jackets and Ducks.
The Wings are led by Dylan Larkin, with two goals and two assists. In net, Jimmy Howard has posted .910 save percentage and a 2.90 Goals Against Average in three contests.