Bruins neutralized Crosby with Bergeron, opted for Chara – Malkin matchup in Game 1 at even strength
One of the top storylines coming into Game 1 was how the Boston Bruins intended to utilize Zdeno Chara in a matchup role and who he would be paired with. Do they go for the matchup against Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin? That was among the burning questions, and, as expected, the Bruins went for the Patrice Bergeron – Sidney Crosby matchup, while going for the Chara – Evgeni Malkin matchup at even strength. The first wrinkle Bruins head coach Claude Julien threw was splitting up his top pairing of Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. With Andrew Ference returning to the lineup, Julien was comfortable enough to pair Johnny Boychuk with Zdeno Chara and go with Ference and Seidenberg in a primary
Scouting the Bruins Defensemen: Has Krug made Bruins better equipped to match up against Pens speed?
SCOUTING THE BRUINS DEFENSEMEN BRUINS PRACTICE D-PAIRS ON TUESDAY Zdeno Chara – Dennis Seidenberg Matt Bartkowski-Johnny Boychuk Torey Krug – Adam McQuaid Wade Redden – Dougie Hamilton Andrew Ference – Aaron Johnson BRUINS QUICKER ON THE BLUELINE? The Penguins were 3-0 against the Bruins in the regular season, all one goal games. What stood out in all three games is that despite how good defensively the Bruins are, the Bruins “D” struggled at times to match up against the Penguins speed upfront, something of a concern for Boston. The Bruins play a tight structure and like to keep teams to the outside, but when breaking down the matchup of the Penguins forwards vs Bruins defensemen, Pittsburgh has the ability to
Post-Morning Skate Buzz: The challenge of the Penguins matching up against Bruins style of play
POST-MORNING SKATE BUZZ What you heard out of the Penguins locker room this morning when describing the Bruins is “structure”. “Very structurally sound,” head coach Dan Bylsma said of the Bruins. “Really good team, balanced throughout their lineup. In addition to that have the best penalty kill in the league,” Bylsma said. As no one has been able to slow down the Penguins offensively of late, Bylsma has been looking forward to the challenge of playing a defensive stout team of the Bruins caliber. “I like the challenge,” Bylsma said. “Have been thinking about that heading into this game. Playing a real structured team that has not allowed a lot of goals. Anticipating this being more type of {defensive} game