Boston, which opens the playoffs on Saturday at Washington, may be better equipped to play in a tough series than it was last year.
After the Boston Bruins were bounced from the 2020 Stanley Cup bubble playoffs, one of the deficiencies identified was in the physicality department. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s offseason and deadline additions like Pat Maroon, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Zach Bogosian added much-needed brawn and grit to a highly skilled team and they bounced Boston in five games. The way the Bruins addressed the issue was not quite as pronounced as the way the Lightning did. It was by both addition and evolution. But so far it’s worked, allowing them to get into the playoffs in one of the NHL’s toughest divisions. Free-agent signee Craig Smith may not drive people into the boards, but his brand of tenacious puck-hunting and willingness to go to the hard areas is not something they had last year. Nick Ritchie, who can leave a mark when he lands a hit, dedicated himself to becoming a better player in the offseason and earned a nightly spot in the lineup. His line with center Sean Kuraly and right wing Charlie Coyle may have developed out of different necessities, but it proved to be a good power line in a small sample size. The addition of grinding fourth-line center Curtis Lazar has allowed the Bruins to utilize Kuraly more fully.
