Haula Aiming to Use Healthy Scratch as a Reset

BOSTON - No professional athlete would say that they prefer to sit out a game. But sometimes, as Erik Haula acknowledged on Wednesday afternoon, it can help act as a bit of a reset for a player struggling to find their game.
The veteran forward believes he experienced just that this week. Haula was a healthy scratch for the Bruins' win over the Canucks on Sunday night, before returning to the lineup on Tuesday for Boston's loss to Detroit.

"I kind of had a stretch there where I wasn't happy with my game myself. I didn't really recognize the player that was out there," said Haula. "Probably was good to sit a game, reset a little bit and now work to get back to my game which was more of last night, skating, more confident on the puck, harder. That was my emphasis and I thought it was a good step towards the right direction."
Haula, now in his ninth NHL season, recognized that after a less than stellar stretch through the month of November, he was likely headed for a stint on the ninth floor. It was a decision that the 30-year-old did not necessarily disagree with.
"I feel like I've been in the league long enough, feel like I've seen all the situations there are," said Haula, who has a goal and two assists in 18 games this season. "Yes, I think it was warranted in a sense, where I wasn't where I needed to be. I wasn't playing the way the team needs me to play. So, in a sense, I took it as let's reset and start over and find my game again and make it looks like it's supposed to."
The Finland native, who was signed to a two-year deal with the Bruins on the opening day of free agency last July, started the 2021-22 campaign well with a strong preseason as he teamed up with Jake DeBrusk and Nick Foligno to form Boston's new-look third line. But after a solid Opening Night showing, the trio struggled to produce much offensively and Foligno went on to miss a stretch of eight games with injury.
"A lot of variables go into it. Start of the season, I was fine but didn't have the production, so different things that can factor into it. I was a little bit in my own head, a lot actually," said Haula, who went the first 11 games of the season without a goal.
"In that sense, that reset was good and just kind of clear the head a little bit…starting over is kind of a dramatic thing…but just take a breath and look at some things and focus on a few areas. That's usually worked for me before and that's kind of my focus."

Haula made it a point to get back to the style he knows best - moving his feet and holding on to the puck in the offensive zone - when he returned to the Bruins' lineup from his one-game absence on Tuesday night. He landed three shots on goal in 12:35 of ice time while centering Jake DeBrusk and Curtis Lazar against the Red Wings.
"He played well [Tuesday] night we thought," said Bruins assistant coach Joe Sacco, who is handling primary coaching responsibilities with Bruce Cassidy in COVID-19 protocol. "I thought he was skating, I thought that he held on to the puck at times in the offensive zone. There was definitely some things that he could build off in his game moving forward certainly.
"He showed that he had the ability to hold on to the puck and make some plays in the offensive zone. That's what we were talking about with Erik, in terms of having some confidence with the puck down low in the offensive zone and moving his feet. I thought he moved his feet well last night."

Maintenance for Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron (maintenance) did not practice on Wednesday, but Sacco said that Boston's captain is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night in Nashville. With Bergeron missing the skate, the Bruins looked at some different line combinations, though Sacco was not ready to commit to any of them being the same against the Predators.
The changes included Foligno reuniting with Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman, a trio that had a strong outing together in Sunday's win over Vancouver, and Haula bumping up to skate with Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith.
"With Bergy out today, we just thought that we'd shuffle the lines around a little bit to give it a look," said Sacco, who did not commit to naming a starting goalie for Thursday's tilt. "I don't want to say that everything is set in stone for [Thursday] just yet. We just thought that we'd give guys a different look at different spots. I don't think I'd read too much into the lineup just yet."

Wait, There's More

• Sacco said there is no timetable for Cassidy's return to the team but indicated that at last check on Tuesday evening Boston's bench boss is still dealing with only mild COVID-19 symptoms. "I think [his return] is still up in the air," said Sacco. "He's feeling OK, which is good. It's not taking him down."
• Some eight-plus years removed from his last regular-season game manning an NHL bench, Sacco said there are certainly some adjustments - particularly when it comes to monitoring matchups and line changes - that come with being back in charge. "I just think it's seeing the game from a different perspective as an assistant coach," he said. "You're watching certain situations as the guy that's running the bench. You're trying to oversee everything that's going on in the game. I think as the game went on it started to come back a little bit easier."
• Sacco complimented skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold for his transition to the bench on Tuesday night. "He did a good job," said Sacco. "He seemed pretty comfortable as the game went on. I think he got a taste at how fast it is down there at ice level. It's an easier game from up top than it is down on the ice. He did well. It was good to have him on the bench."

Wednesday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS
Taylor Hall - Brad Marchand - David Pastrnak
Erik Haula - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Trent Frederic - Karson Kuhlman
Jake DeBrusk - Tomas Nosek - Curtis Lazar
DEFENSEMEN
Derek Forbort - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly - Jakub Zboril/Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman